


Hell Isn't So Bad With You In It

by MisticRays



Series: Together Forever [1]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alastor is a tease, Asexual!Alastor, Beware, F/M, Getting pretty hot and heavy, Mentions of Rape, Romance, Still not sure if it'll turn into more but we'll see, Updating tags now, mentions of abuse, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:48:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisticRays/pseuds/MisticRays
Summary: Amelia found herself in Hell after a bad run in with a drunk. Now she fears for her life as the threat of a powerful demon stalks her every move. Hiding away at the Hazbin Hotel, feelings for the infamous Radio Demon get confusing as Amelia tries her best to stay two steps ahead of her enemy.
Relationships: Alastor/Original Character, Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Series: Together Forever [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684819
Comments: 60
Kudos: 150





	1. We All Fall Down

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON ANY OTHER WEBSITE OR APP THAT IS NOT A03 (EXAMPLE: FANFIC POCKET ARCHIVE LIBRARY UNOFFICIAL) I DID NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORKS TO BE REPOSTED. I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS. PLEASE REPORT THIS APP AND READ MY WORKS ONLY ON A03. I REPEAT, NO CONSENT WAS GIVEN.
> 
> I should be working on Magic Dance, I should be working on Magic Dance, I should be working on M-HEY EVERYONE GUESS WHAT A NEW FIC AHAHAHAHAHAHA whoops. I can't help it? Magic Dance kind of got away from me story wise so I'm trying to pick up those pieces. And then I say Hazbin Hotel and everything went crazy from there. Alastor, amirite? Just a quick warning; there will be mentions of physical abuse along with rape in the later chapters. It was hard for me to write those scenes, I can't imagine what it'll be like to read em. I'm so cruel to my characters *cries* Also what is with that title? It's so long. Gross. Can't think of anything better though.

Do you ever just..regret something as soon as you do it? That feeling of dread that takes over every fibre of your being and sucks the life right out of you? And then the panic sets in because you know that you’ve _done fucked up_ and there is no way to turn back time and make things right? That was what was coursing through my body in that second. As I looked down at the fast approaching ground, I expected my life to flash before my eyes. Instead, all I saw was the blood pooling around that man, the light leaving his eyes as he looked up at me in shock and horror. I mean, I did cut him up pretty good. It was an accident though! Let me explain.

My name is Amelia and I’m twenty-seven years old. I lived in a small Canadian town and, while you’d think “small” and “Canadian” meant nothing bad ever happens there, that would be a lie. We were actually one of the top ten towns for murder. Great tourist attraction if you ask me. Anyways, I had been walking home from a friend’s house. It was around one in the morning when I noticed this guy was following me. Now, as a rule, I carry a pocket knife on me at all times. I’ve never had to use it on anyone up until this point, thankfully, but you just can’t count on luck every single time. The guy following me had been drunk and when he grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go, I pulled my knife.

“Aw come on sweetheart,” he slurred, a twisted grin splitting his face. “No need ta do that. I jus’ wanna have some fun.” A chill ran up my spine at his words and I struggled even more to get away. That only seemed to spur him on, his leg shooting out to knock me down. A scream tore out of my throat as he pounced on me and before I knew it, my knife was sticking out of his neck. There was a moment, half a second maybe, where we just stared at each other before the blood starting gushing out. I yanked the knife out and pushed the guy off of me, rolling into a standing position. Of course it was then that police lights started to flash.

Panicked, I broke into a run, the cops shouting after me. I could hear one of them following me, their feet pounding on the concrete as I dashed away. He chased me up a fire escape and onto the roof of a building. It was a stupid move on my part, but I had been hoping he didn’t see me duck into the dark alley way. I skidded to a stop at the edge of the building, panting as I tried to look around for another escape.

“Put your hands up!” The cop shouted as he reached the top of the building. I took a step back, trying to keep distance between us. “Don’t move! Put your hands where I can see them!”

“Please!” I sobbed. “I didn’t mean to!” I took another step back.

“Just come with us to the station quietly. It’ll make things go smoothly,” he put his gun down, a show of goodwill, and took another step forward. My mind was still racing, I wasn’t registering what he was saying, so I took another step back. Except, there were no more steps to take. As I went to put all my weight on my leg, I felt air and then I was falling.

So yeah, instant regret. My name is Amelia, I was twenty-seven years old when I died from falling and now I seem to have found myself in a place where nightmares were created. I was in Hell.

\- - -

My fall into Hell happened almost a year ago now and it had sucked. I didn’t know where I was or how I got there and something felt really _off_. I could remember the man and what I did to him, and I remembered being chased by that cop and ultimately falling to my doom. So I knew I was dead. My worst fear of _where_ I was became reality as I stumbled out of the alley way I had crashed into and looked up at a giant neon sign that read “WELCOME TO HELL” in big, flashy colours. My first initial thought was “everything is so red here.” My second was “Oh fucking shit,” followed promptly by “Well isn’t this just peachy.” I had run a hand through my hair only for it to be stopped by something hard, long and pointy at the top. Eyes widening, I rushed to a nearby window and nearly screamed. I had _horns_. Fucking _horns that were black._ The rest of me was a hoot as well. My skin had turned grey in colour, my eyes no longer baby blue but instead a deep purple. My hair was still fiery red, the only thing that seemed to stay the same. Well, that and my clothes although they looked horrible.

Ah yeah, those were the good days. Stumbling around Hell trying to figure out how to survive down here. Now I was living in a small but sort of nice apartment and working as a waitress in one of the finest diners Hell had to offer. The Devil’s Diner was retro themed, bringing back the black and white tiled floors, the red vinyl booths and the old radio stations that everyone seemed to enjoy back in those days. It was cute.

I quickly learned that there were two groups of demons that lived in Hell; the evil ones and the not so evil ones. I had run into both kinds while living down here and, while I’d rather be grouped in with the ‘not so evil’, you had to learn to defend yourself pretty quickly. Thankfully, I ran into Jules only after two days on the street. Jules was the owner of the Devil’s Diner and he offered me the job of waitress and helped me find a place to stay. He was, thankfully, one of the not so evil. Through him, I had met Martin, Sasha, Kale who also worked at the diner. I had also met Angel Dust, a regular at the diner. According to him, our coffee and pancakes were to _die_ for, a comment that always cracked him up.

And, of course, speak of the devil and he shall appear!

“Red!” Angel Dust called over to me as I set a plate of food down on one of the tables. I waved at him and wondered over. Angel Dust was a spider demon with pink fur. He was a famous porn actor down here and, while he did have a mean streak to him, he wasn’t all that bad. At least as far as I knew. I noticed a few others trailed in with him, one of which being the Princess of Hell. I remembered seeing an interview she had done on 666 News for a hotel she was starting. She looked just as she did on the TV, blonde with big, innocent eyes and whiter than a sheet. Along with her, there were three others I didn’t recognize.

“Hey Angel,” I greeted with a grin. Angel wrapped one of his six arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “I see you’ve dragged some others into here.”

“We’re celebratin’!” Angel replied. “The opening of the hotel and all that. Plus we brought in a few others.”

“Right. I did see that interview on the TV,” I turned to the Princess when I heard her groan. “Oh now, don’t be like that. It was quite entertaining.” I gave her a small smile. “My name’s Amelia. Or Amy. Or Red, as this jerk off likes to call me.”

“Hey!” Angel pinched my leg and sat down at one of the booths. “I am a payin’ customer. You can’t talk to me like that.”

“Coming from the one who tries to dry hump Kale every time he walks by!” I shot back. Kale was unfortunately on the receiving end of Angel’s very sexual comments. Unfortunate for him because Kale was already married but it was very funny for the rest of us.

“Well, I’d try it on you but I’d loose an arm or two in the process.” Angel shrugged.

“Well, I’m Charlie,” the Princess held a hand out. “It’s nice to meet one of Angel’s friends.”

“Friend? Ha! He only comes here because I feed him,” I shook Charlie’s hand as I stuck my tongue out at Angel. “And because I’m the only waitress left in this place that can deal with his...well, you know.” I gestured to Angel. The girl beside Charlie snickered. She had grey skin like me and long white hair that was tied back with a bow. One of her eyes was missing though, a big ‘X’ replacing it.

“Vaggie,” she said, also offering me her hand. “I was wondering who this mysterious ‘Red’ was. Angel keeps going on about you.”

“Nothing bad I hope,” I replied.

“All the bad. Nothing but bad! Worst demon I ever knew,” Angel huffed. “Yeesh, ya help a gal out a few times and this is what it gets ya.”

“Help? What help? The most you’ve ever done for me is leave a two dollar tip.”

“Can we just get this stupid breakfast over with so I can go back to the hotel and drink?” A gruff voice groaned. Turning, I saw a very hung over cat demon slinking his way into the booth across from Angel, who gave a disappointment pout.

“Well, if you want I could get Jules to break out the good stuff early. Just for today.” I smirked when the demon perked up at that.

“Husker doesn’t need any more!” Another voice, one filled with static, spoke up. Ah yes, there was another one with them. Before I was able to turn and see who it was, they brushed past me while waving their arms around. “No, no, no, no. Our dear Husker has already hit his limit for this morning I think.” Suddenly turning around, I was met with red eyes and a huge smile. “Alastor! Wonderful to meet you, my dear!” He grabbed my hand and shook it before sliding into the booth. I blinked a few times before shaking off my shock at such an energetic being and readied my pen and paper.

“Just the usual for me, babe,” Angel said while giving me finger guns. “Oh and, if Kale is here, tell him I want a side order of his d-”

“Nope!” I turned to Charlie and Vaggie, ignoring Angel’s hysterical laughter. “What about you two?”

“Well, Angel says the pancakes here are to die for so I’ll have to try those,” Charlie grinned. “Any chance I can get some chocolate chips in there?”

“For sure!” I nodded and wrote her order down.

“I’ll just have eggs and toast.” Vaggie closed her menu and slid it on top of Charlie’s. “And a coffee.” I turned to Husker, who has his head down on the table and was snoring.

“I’ll just write him in for a coffee...” I muttered and then turned to Alastor who was staring at me with creepily intense eyes. “And uh, you?”

“Well, what would you recommend, my dear?” Alastor asked, resting his chin on his hand. “You work here so you must know what really is to die for! Ha ha ha!”

“Well my for sure favourite is the Eggs Benedict. I don’t know what Martin does with the ham but it is divine.” I sighed just thinking about it, wondering if I could get Martin to make it for my lunch.

“Splendid! I’ll go with that!” Alastor nodded. I wrote down everyone’s orders and hurried over to the kitchen.

“Martin!” I called through the order window. “Got a certain whiny spider who demands food!”

“Hey!” Angel yelled. “I can hear you!”

“That was the point!” I yelled back, laughing. Martin limped over to the window, taking the order list and eyeing it over. Martin was a fish demon; parts of his skin had been replaced by patches of scales, he had gills but could also breath just fine out of water and his hands were webbed. His eyes were also much like a fishes as well.

“Angel Dust, eh? Better get on this then. He’ll be whining at me next.” Martin gave a gruff laugh. As his eyes landed on Angel’s table, Martin froze up and fear entered his eyes.

“Hey, what’s up?” I put a hand on his arm, trying to shake him out of it.

“T-that’s the Radio Demon.” Martin’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The one in red.”

“Who?” I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over my shoulder at the table; they all seemed to be in deep conversation.

“The Radio Demon! He’s one of Hell’s biggest overlords! Oh kid, you better be careful. He’ll rip ya in two just for looking at him weird.” Martin shuffled over to his stove, daring another look over at the table as he did so. Mulling over Martin’s words, I headed over to the other tables to make sure everyone was alright with their drinks and food. The Radio Demon...now that I thought about it, I did remember Jules talking about how there was this broadcast every so often from him. Something about his murders down in Hell? Well, the man sitting with Angel didn’t seem all that bad. A little weird maybe but that was about it.

“Oh! Hey! Red!” Angel suddenly called to me, reaching over Alastor to grab my wrist. “I wanna swing something by ya.” Stopping by their table, I put my pad and pen away in one of my apron pockets and crossed my arms.

“Shoot.”

“So ya know how Charlie here is doing this Hotel thing right?” Angel began. “Well we were just talking about demons we thought might wanna be redeemed and, what do ya know, you’re just the gal that comes to mind!”

“Oh really?” I huffed out a laugh.

“Well sure! Just the other day, one of my buddies was saying there should be a trial in place for demons like you. Murderin’ a creep in self defence should be seen as a heroes job! You’ll be singing with the guys in white in no time, baby!”

“Black looks better on me,” I shrugged.

“At least come by and see!” Charlie bounced in her seat, excited at the prospect of someone new joining. “Please? You’ll have a free room and food and you can keep working here!”

“I, uh-”

“Order up!” Martin called. Spinning on my heel, I walked quickly up to the window and started putting the food onto a tray. As I headed back to Angel’s table, I quickly sighed in relief as it seemed they were talking about something else. However, as I started putting the food down, Angel quickly turned to me.

“Come on, toots! It’ll be like a sleep over! You just...can’t ever leave!” He shrugged and pulled his plate of food closer to him. I pressed my lips into a thin line before sighing again.

“Oh alright,” I nodded.

“Yay!” Charlie cheered, waking up Husk in the process. I offered him the cup of coffee and he took it with a mumbled thanks. “Oh, you should come by after you’re done work! When does your shift end?” I looked behind me at the clock above the serving window.

“Three hours,” I replied, turning back.

“That’s so far away!” Charlie sighed dramatically, making Vaggie smile.

“Tell me about it,” I snickered. “Look, you guys eat up and then go do your dailies. I’ll meet you at the hotel when I’m finished here.”

“Do you even know where it is?” Vaggie asked. Looking out the window, I squinted before pointing to the left.

“If I’m remembering correctly, it’s that way. I’ll find it. I have a knack for finding places.” Seeming satisfied with that, Charlie and Vaggie turned to their food and began chowing down. Angel had already inhaled his breakfast and was sitting sprawled out on the booth. Shaking my head in amusement, I grabbed his plate and headed back to the kitchen. As I was setting the plate into the bin for dirty dishes, I heard the door bell jingle as the door opened. There was a half second of silence before Angel screamed in delight and I heard Kale scream in terror. Rushing out to the front, I found Angel and Kale on the floor; Angel was trying to force Kale into a hug and Kale was trying his hardest to get away.

Watching the two of them go at it, and taking in the faces of Angel’s friends, I couldn’t help but bend over and start laughing.

“Kale~” Angel sang as his wrapped his many arms around the smaller demon. “Oh I missed you!”

“Get off me!” Kale yelled, trying and failing to push Angel away. It only made me laugh harder, my hand banging on the counter beside me. “Amy! Fucking help!”

“Why would I do that?” I gasped between giggles, my hand covering my mouth. _“_ This is just too entertaining!” A door suddenly slammed open and heavy footsteps headed in our direction. From the back emerged Jules, as tall and elegant as always. Why someone who looked like that decided to run a diner was beyond me. He was an owl demon; actually one of the few in relation to Stolas, one of the princes of Hell. But where Stolas had white and black feathers, Jules was gold and white. Another big difference were their eyes; Stolas had red eyes and Jules had black.

“What, pray tell, is going on in my diner?” Jules asked with a heavy British accent. Angel and Kale froze, looking up at the older demon. Kale had a look of pure horror on his face, which was kind of understandable seeing as he was a rat demon. His small body, compared to the very big one of Jules, was comedic most days.

“H-hey boss!” Kale squeaked and jumped up, saluting.

“Oh hey Julie!” Angel snickered, still on the ground. “Miss me?”

“Hardly,” Jules sighed and crossed his arms. “This is a place of business. If you want to fuck my employees, do it outside of the building.” That just got me laughing again. I covered my mouth, trying to quiet myself down to no avail. “Amelia, I leave you in charge and this is what I come back to?”

“I think we’re done now anyways!” Charlie stood up and pushed Husk out of the booth. Jules eyed her for a moment before shrugging. “ _Right_ Angel?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Angel huffed and stood up. “Hey, Red. One of us will come pick ya up after work, mmkay? Don’t need ya getting lost.”

“I won’t get lost.” I crossed my arms defensively. Angel just laughed as he walked out the door and Charlie, Vaggie and Husk. Alastor was busy eyeing Jules who, in turn, was doing the same.

“Alastor.” Jules nodded in greeting. “I had heard you were joining in on the Princess’ escapade to redeem sinners. I didn’t think you’d stoop so low.”

“Let’s just say I’m in it for the entertainment!” Alastor threw his arms out. “Until next time, Jules.” Alastor followed the others out and I watched as they walked by the window and down the street.

“You should have told me he was here.” Jules turned to me, narrowing his eyes playfully.

“I didn’t even know who he was,” I replied. “Martin said that he’s the Radio Demon but, I mean, I haven’t really heard much about him.”

“Fair. You never go out after work so it’s no wonder,” Jules shrugged and turned away. “What was that, about picking you up?”

“Oh! Angel invited me to join Charlie’s rehabilitation thing. They want to show me around the hotel.” I went to go tidy up the table the group had just left.

“Do you believe in that? Rehabilitation?” Jules asked, following me.

“I don’t know. Maybe? I’d have to see it to believe it.” Taking the dishes into the kitchen, I giggled as Kale scurried out of the break room and start his duties.

“Yes, well. Do be careful of that deer. He doesn’t do anything for free and he’s one _hell_ of a deal maker.” With that advice given, he nodded and headed back for his office.

I spent the rest of my shift joking around with Martin and Kale, sighing in relief when Sasha finally came in to take over. Sasha was a fox demon, her long red tail swishing behind her as she walked.

“Well hey there sugah,” Sasha threw an arm over my shoulder. “Ready to go home for the day?”

“Am I ever.” I laughed. I headed into the break room and changed into my everyday clothes, black skinny jeans and a red top. Slipping into my black combat boots, I finished my look with a leather jacket. Giving the others a peace sign, I skipped out the door and headed in the direction of the hotel. About two blocks from the diner, I noticed a familiar demon in red heading in my direction. Right, Angel did say he was going to send someone to get me. I just figured it would have been himself or even Charlie. Alastor didn’t seem like the babysitting type.

“Ah! I seem to be late!” Alastor’s grin widened a bit. “I got sidetracked by a little demon who thought he could act tough. Quickly got that thought out of his head though.”

“You really didn’t have to come get me. I know how to get to the hotel!” I brushed past him and continued walking but that didn’t seem to deter him.

“Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t escort a lady? Especially in such a dangerous place such as Hell?” Alastor tried to link arms with me but I pulled away.

“Gentleman?” I scoffed. “The rumours that fly around about you say that you’re anything but.” True, I didn’t know much about him but that didn’t mean I couldn’t bluff my way through it.

“Dear, I only harm those who get in my way! Whether it be for power or simply just being in the wrong place at the wrong time! Outside of all that I truly am a gentleman.” He held a hand to his chest, pretending to be offended by my words. I hummed in response, picking up my pace. He, of course, easily matched it. Damn long legged demon. At least I wasn’t too much short than him, only coming up to just under his chin but still.

“Now, where is that sweet girl I met at the restaurant? Surely that isn’t a farce?” Alastor grinned down at me. “Or, perhaps, you were warned away from me? By a certain owl? You know, you can’t trust a book by its cover.”

“Maybe I’m just wary of new people,” I shot back. He had a point though, I was being unreasonably snarky towards him. Sure, he was a killer but most demons down here were. “Look, when I’m told someone is bad news I usually take the advice. I’ve had to learn that the hard way.”

“Oh?” Alastor pressed but I didn’t answer. I wasn’t comfortable talking about my past with anyone. Even when I had been alive it was a challenge. When he realized he wasn’t getting anything more, he just shrugged. “No matter. I’ll just have to show you that I’m trust worthy! Why, our own Princess of Hell trusts me!”

“You sure about that? She could just be humouring you.”

“Well I should hope so! I am in this purely for the entertainment!” A laugh track sounded around us, making me jump and look around until I realized it came from him. Radio Demon indeed. Smirking, he started walking a little faster. I had a feeling this was going to be a very long day.


	2. Never Trust a Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia finds out what life at the Hazbin Hotel is all about but Jules isn't too happy about her going there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I'll put the warning for mentions of abuse and everything else. Shit gets intense not too far along in this chapter and I'd like all my lovely readers to be safe. I don't go into the gory details but you can never be too careful. Just a fair warning.

When we reached the hotel, I had to stop for a moment and look in awe. It was huge! There was even half of a boat sticking out of it, which did not make sense. Shaking myself out of the shock, I jogged to catch up with Alastor. As soon as we got to the doors, they burst open and a flash of pink came rocketing out and barrelled into me. I screamed as I was tackled to the ground, kicking and clawing to try and get away.

“Red! You made it!” Angel cried in happiness. Snarling, I bared my teeth at him and squirmed, trying to break the hold he had on me.

“Oh! You’re here!” Charlie poked her head outside and grinned when she saw me. “Angel, let her go!” Rushing down to us, Charlie helped me off, brushing off some dirt that had gotten onto my clothes.

“Ugh, whatever. I like tackling Kale more. He doesn’t threaten to bite me.” Angel stuck his tongue out at me as he walked away.

“And here I thought you liked it when people bit you,” I snarked.

“Well yeah, but they’re usually paying me when they do. So unless you wanna hand over some dough...” He held one one of his hands out, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. I smacked his hand away and headed for the entrance.

“No.”

“That’s what I thought,” Angel laughed. Charlie led me through the doors and into the lobby where I was greeted with many pictures of her, her family and some friends along the entire wall. I whistled, eyeing the high ceiling and the curved staircase leading upstairs. Alastor was already inside, leaning against what looked like a bar, and poking Husk.

“So, like Angel said before, you can stay here for free! You just have to come to the classes and exercises.” Charlie started to ramble on about the hotel and her mission as she led me further into the hotel. “We don’t really have anyone else here yet...Angel is our first patron. But! That doesn’t mean more won’t come! I have a feeling that by the end of the month, our rooms will be full!” I smiled at how enthusiastic she was about the whole thing. Really, it did sound like a dream come true; redeeming yourself and going to Heaven. Sighing, I looked away from her happy face and to the ground. “What’s wrong? Did I say something?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I just don’t think I can be redeemed.”

“Well, Angel said what you did was an accident, right? Surely that means-”

“There’s more to the story than that,” I cut her off. “Something I’d rather not get into to. Kind of...personal.”

“Oh.” Her face fell a bit, probably imagining all kinds of horrible things I could have done. But just as soon as her face dropped, her smile picked right back up again. “We can still try!” I couldn’t hold the laugh back, shaking my head a little.

“You never give up, do you?” I said when the giggles subsided. Charlie shook her head, causing her blond hair to spin around her face. Grabbing my arm, she dragged me through the rest of the hotel, completing the tour at what would be my room. It was actually really nice; the walls were a dark red (which I didn’t mind) and it had a queen sized bed with a plush looking comforter. The floor was carpet, there was a big dresser that was sure to hold all my clothes and then some and there was even a balcony.

“Nifty has outdone herself with the repairs for this place,” Charlie beamed.

“Nifty?” I tilted my head to one side.

“Oh! Nifty is our cleaner. Alastor brought her on board when he first joined us. Along with Husk as well.” Charlie explained. “She’s probably off cleaning somewhere. You’ll meet her eventually. Come on! I haven’t even shown you the best part yet!” Leading me away from the room, we went back downstairs, passing Angel who was attempting to flirt with Husk, and into what looked like a ballroom. It had big picture windows, a huge dance floor, various instruments sitting in a corner and a stage.

“Whoa.” I bit my lip as I stepped inside.

“This is where we’re going to hold the parties and group sessions!” Charlie announced. By the instruments, I saw a grand piano and my fingers started to twitch; the need to play again was always heavy on my mind. I loved to play the piano when I was alive. I felt so carefree when I did. “So, have I convinced you to join us?”

“Uh...” turning the Charlie, I gave her a sheepish smile. “I don’t....I don’t know. I mean, what you’re doing is great and all but I still don’t think it’ll work for me.”

“How about you take a few days to think about it? That way you can just process everything we do here.” Charlie gave me a soft smile. “It can be scary, I know. The thought of going to Heaven when we’ve been down here for so long. I just want my people happy.”

“You’re very noble, Charlie,” I said softly. “Anyways, I should get going. I have a lot to do at home and I am quite the expert at procrastination.”

“She is!” Angel confirmed, walking up to us. “She waited two weeks before accepting my friendship.”

“More like I was avoiding you,” I pointed out. “But then you found out where I live and you stayed on my couch for, like, two days...”

“Angel!” Charlie laughed.

“And _then_ you threatened to start bring guys over and ruining my carpet and I was just sick of you at that point so I decided being your friend would be better than not.” I finished. Angel started at me for a moment, blinking slowly.

“Is it?” He finally asked.

“No.” I turned on my heel and headed for the door. Raising my hands in a dramatic shrug, I turned back to the others, walking backwards. “But I will say I haven’t had this much fun before.”

“Woo!” Angel threw his arms up in the air, dancing in place. Laughing, I turned back around and headed out the doors. As I headed back to my apartment, I did seriously start to consider the offer. Get redeemed, huh? I mean, what had happened had been an accident. I didn’t want to kill that guy. Maybe I could be redeemed. I didn’t want to get my hopes up but if there was any chance this could work...well, I kind of wanted to take it.

I entered my small apartment and collapsed against the door, sighing. I had a few days to really think about it so I would take that time. However, I still had a job and chores to do so instead of just lounging around like I really wanted, I got going on those. My apartment was a mess and while most in Hell wouldn’t care, I did. Very much. I spent the rest of the day cleaning and organizing, making sure everything was back where it belonged. By the time night fell, I was completely exhausted. I made a quick dinner and got ready for bed, eager to start a new day.

\- - -

I skipped into work, a few minutes earlier than needed. I wanted to get a jump start on the day and I was ready to face the rush that was sure to come. Jules was already there, counting out the till to make sure we had enough change. He gave me a smile when he saw me but turned back to his work almost immediately. He absolutely loathed it if he lost count.

Heading into the break room, I changed into my waitress outfit; it was a simple light blue shirt with the diner logo on it and black work pants. I was so happy I didn’t have to wear an uncomfortable uniform. I remembered how unhappy people looked when they wore them on Earth. Heading back out to the front, I came up beside Jules and started prepping the first batch of coffee.

“You’re in quite the chipper mood today,” Jules commented as he closed the register. “Good day yesterday?”

“I got a lot done,” I nodded. “And you know I’ve always been a morning person.”

“This is true.” Jules hummed. I could feel his stare on the back of my head, like he was trying to see into my mind.

“Need something?” I asked, peering over my shoulder at him. His black eyes were narrowed in thought and his arms were crossed. It honestly creeped me out a bit.

“And did you end up going to that hotel?” He finally asked, the disdain clear in his voice.

“...I did.” I turned back to the coffee machine. Jules moved so he was right behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

“And did they convince you to redeem yourself?” His voice dropped, becoming dangerous. “You wouldn’t consider leaving me, would you?” I froze up, completely aware of how quickly Jules could turn on someone. There used to be someone else who worked at the diner, someone who stole from the register on a daily basis. When Jules found out, he ripped them to shreds in front of everyone. It had been horrible.

“W-well,” I stuttered. “I um...I was just thinking I could stay there for a few days. Charlie seems really passionate about this and really believes demons can be redeemed. Why not give it a shot?”

“Oh Amelia,” Jules sighed. “Poor, sweet, delusional Amelia.” Lifting a hand, he ran his claws through my hair. I shivered at the feeling; it was entirely unwelcome. “Why would you think Heaven would want you? After everything you’ve done?”

“It was an accident...” I whispered, closing my eyes.

“Well, the murder was yes. But the rest? That was all your own doing, wasn’t it?”

I felt myself shrinking under his hold, his words like acid on my skin. Yes...everything had been my fault. If I hadn’t been so stupid...Jules was right. Jules was always right. I didn’t belong up there, happy and carefree. I deserved my punishment, every day of it. To even think there was some kind of hope...

“Exactly! So why bother with this whole redemption nonsense when you can stay here? Hmm?” Jules patted my head. “You’re safe here.”

“I’d still like to try.” I opened my eyes and moved away from Jules.

“Amelia,” his voice took on a hard tone. “I’m doing this for your own good. You are to not go back there. Stay here. You have friends here who understand you. And you have me. Am I not enough for you anymore?” He grabbed my chin and made me look at him, his black, cold eyes staring into my purple ones. “Do you wish to hurt me? Is that it? After everything I’ve done?”

“Jules, please.” I winced as his grip on me tightened. He was surely going to leave a bruise.

“Picked you up off the streets,” Jules continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Gave you a job, gave you a roof over your head! I was your only friend down here! And yet you want to run off and get _redeemed_ like a fool.”

“Let me go!” I slapped his hand away and backed up. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do. His form started growing and his looks became more demonic. Taking a step forward, the floor beneath him groaned a bit at the added weight.

“Little girl,” he growled, his voice deep and dark. “You are playing a dangerous game.”

“You don’t own me, Jules!” A confidence I’ve never felt before swelled up inside of me. “You have no say over what I can and cannot do.”

“I owned you from the second I laid eyes on you,” he smirked. “But it seems you’re in need of some reminding of who exactly is in charge around here.” My eyes grew in fear as he got closer, backing me up into a corner. Grabbing me by the throat he lifted me off the ground and brought me closer to his face. I gasped for breath, clawing at his hand and kicking my legs, trying to get away. I screamed...but no one heard me.

\- - -

Rain...it was raining. I could feel it on my face, running down in cold rivulets, mixing with my blood. Everything hurt. I didn’t know what time it was or if it was still the same day. It was dark out, I knew that much. One of my eyes was swollen shut and the other one kept going blurry but I could still make out landmarks. I made my way down the street, limping and gasping as each step caused pain to shoot up my left leg. I figured it was broken. Slowly, the hotel came into view. I just...I had to get there. I had to make it.

The steps were a bitch to get up. I had to sit on my butt and move up one step at a time. Groaning in pain as I finally reached the door, I lifted a hand and knocked as hard as I could. My other arm lay useless in my lap; also probably broken. I was just a broken mess and the worst part was this wasn’t my first time in such a situation. I lifted my hand and knocked again.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I heard Charlie call. Good. Charlie. She can help. She can...I was quickly loosing consciousness. The door opened. “Hello? Wh-Oh my! Vaggie! Angel! I need help!” She knelt beside me and took my face into her hands gently. Tears started streaming down my face. “Oh Amy. What happened?”

“Charlie? What’s going on?” Vaggie appeared with a spear in her hand, Angel not too far behind. When they say me, both of them gasped, Angel letting out a few curse words and rushing to my side.

“Son of a bitch!” He yelled. “Who the fuck did this to you, kid?”

“Jules...” I whispered.

“Oh fucking hell. We gotta get her inside and outta this rain!” Angel lifted me into his arms and I cried out in pain.

“I’ll get the first aid!” Vaggie dashed off. I closed my eyes, just wanting to sleep. I felt something soft under me and figured Angel put me on a couch.

“Her clothes are trashed.” Charlie commented softly.

“You don’t think that fucker...” There was a pause and Angel swore again. “Imma kill him.”

“Angel no,” Charlie pleaded. “His cousin is one of the Princes. You can’t.”

“The fuck I can’t!” Angel yelled. I winced and moaned. My head was pounding. I heard the pounding of feet getting closer.

“Okay I got it.” Vaggie. First aid kit. Right. Sleep sounded really good right now.

“Hang in there, kid,” I heard Angel say but his voice was far away. “Just hang in there.”

\- - -

The next time I woke up, I was in a bed. Looking around, I quickly found I was in the hotel room that was going to be mine. Angel was asleep in a chair beside me, his head resting on the mattress. Had he been here the entire time? What day was it? How long had I been out?

I took a quick stock of myself; my arm and leg were in casts and there was a bandage over my right eye. Reaching up with my unbroken arm, I felt another bandage on my neck and noticed one on my arm as well. I couldn’t lift my head to see anything else and I figured I didn’t want to.

“Ang...” I tried to say his name but I could barely talk. My throat burned. I grabbed his arm and shook him as hard as I could, which wasn’t very hard considering. He instantly shot awake though and blinked rapidly.

“Wha?” Looking down, he noticed me and a grin broke over his face. “Red! You’re alive! YOU’RE ALIVE!” His voice was too loud. Way too loud. I moved my hand up and down, trying to tell him to lower his voice. Then I made a motion of drinking. “Oh! Right. Here.” Grabbing a cup with a straw, he held it to my lips. I greedily drank, the cool water easing the burn in my throat. It was divine.

“Thanks,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “How long...?”

“Three days,” Angel replied. “Ya took a beating, kid. I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t get here before passin’ out.”

“Mm hungry.” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I bet ya are! I’ll be right back with some food!” Angel stood up and ran out the door. I was fast asleep by the time he came back.

\- - -

I cracked my eyes open, wincing at the offending light filtering through the window. I had been in and out of consciousness for the last few days, not really retaining anything from it other than pain. Lifting my head a bit, I noticed I wasn’t alone; Alastor sat by the window reading.

“So, she finally wakes!” He said cheerfully, eyes not leaving the pages. “You had us worried there.”

“Can’t get rid of me that quickly,” I replied, laying my head back down. “I’m like a disease.” Alastor chuckled at that, closing the book. He was sitting quite comfortably, his ankle resting on his knee and his chin resting on his fit. I never really thought about it before but he was kind of handsome. Especially with the way the light was coming in. I mentally kicked myself as I thought that; there was no _way_ I was going down that road. I must have been kicked in the head or something to even entertain that thought. Jeebus.

“Something seems to be troubling you, dear.” Alastor said. I was never going to get used to the constant static in his voice or the white noise that surrounded him. It was very off putting.

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, I am laying in bed with very little clothing on and only a sheet covering me and it is _quite_ uncomfortable.” Yeah, that was a good lie. Bring up the fact that the only thing on your person were bandage wraps! Good job! Woohoo! A plus social skills.

“You seemed fine about it when Angel was here,” Alastor pointed out.

“I know Angel,” I replied. “I don’t know you.”

“Well if it helps in any way at all, I am not interested in...that.” I side eyed him, trying to gauge his expression; he had a small smile, an almost genuine smile.

“Does your face hurt from all that smiling or have you just pushed through the pain for so long that you no longer feel it?” I suddenly asked. Alastor chuckled again and stood up, walking over to the bedside slowly.

“You must be feeling better. Your quips are back,” he said, placing his book on the bedside table. “Would you like to try and sit up?”

“Yes!” I nearly cried in relief. I was so tired of laying down. I balanced my weight on my good arm as Alastor moved the pillows around so I could sit up. It was an entirely painful process but it felt so good to be sitting. Sighing happily, I ran a hand through my hair and grimaced; it felt disgusting. “Ugh, I must look a sight right now.” At least I could kind of see out of my other eye now, the swelling had gone down nicely according to Charlie.

“I’m sure I’ve seen worse,” Alastor said as he moved away. He sat back down in his spot by the window but kept his eyes on me. “I am quite curious though. Angel said you mentioned Jules’ name when he asked who did this. We haven’t been able to get much else from you.” I winced at the mention of his name, the memories flooding my mind.

“I’d rather not talking about it,” I mumbled and looked away. I willed the floor to just open up and swallow me whole.

“We can guess by the extent of your injuries but what I’m more curious about is the _why._ You seemed to be his favourite at the moment. What changed?” Alastor rested his chin on his hand, his eyes never leaving me and his smile impossibly wide.

“This.” I motioned to the room. “I told him I was considering this. He got mad. He doesn’t like it when others disobey him. This was a...a reminder of who was in charge.” Just then, the door opened and Angel walked in with a tray of food.

“Red!” He greeted. “Glad to see you up. Got some food here for ya and then I was thinking we could fix that mess of a mop on your head.”

“You would be my most favourite demon ever if you did that.” I sighed happily as he put the food down beside me.

“And! Since we both know you’re gonna be stuck in here for a while I’m going to do you a one time solid,” Angel pulled out a pen and paper from behind his back. “Make a list of books you want and I’ll go get them for you.”

“Really?” If my eyes could sparkle, they would have. “Would you be willing to pick up some things from my apartment too?”

“Done and done, toots,” Angel grinned. “Charlie had her goats go get clothes and other importants a few days ago.” As Angel talked, Alastor quietly got up and left the room. I gave him a small smile as he walked past which he returned with a wink before heading down the hallway.

“Did Charlie also happen to mention how much longer I have to be stuck in here?” I asked. “Not that the room isn’t great but I’d love some fresh air.”

“Actually, we got a wheelchair,” Angel informed me. He headed into the adjoining bathroom and I could hear water running in the tub. I quickly scarfed down the food he brought me and waited patiently as he tended to the tub. “Now, since I figured you don’t want a guy bathing you, Charlie and Vaggie will be up in a tick!” Angel called from the bathroom.

“You figured well!” I laughed. As if on cue, said demons walked into the room carrying towels and soap.

“Good morning!” Charlie greeted. “Ready to get clean?”

“Fucking _please._ ” With the help of Angel, they were able to get me into the bathroom. Since I couldn’t actually sit in the tub, thanks to the casts, we had to get creative when it came to washing my hair but we managed. Afterwards, I was put into the softest silk pajamas I had ever felt and wheeled to the lift which took us downstairs to the lobby. Instead of stopping there, though, I was taken into a side room where a TV was set up and a few couches. Angel was lounging on one, playing a video game, while Alastor sat in the corner and read the book he had earlier. He glanced up for a moment as we entered, his small smile turning into a smirk before he focused back on the book.

Charlie moved the wheelchair so I was sitting beside Angel, who threw one of his arms over my shoulder, while her and Vaggie curled up on one of the other couches. Husk came in not too long after, a bottle of booze in his hand, and sprawled out on the last couch. It was nice, just hanging out with them. I already felt like I could call them friends, which wasn’t easy to come by in Hell. Maybe...maybe I’d be safe here.


	3. Trust In Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia can't shake the nightmares of that night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is flowing so nicely *heart eyes*

_Pain. So much pain. He held a knife to my throat while he...Stop. Please stop. I don’t want this. Let me go. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I-_

“AH!” I jolted up in bed, the scream tearing from my throat. It had been a month and a half since I started staying at the hotel. My arm and leg had been taken out of the cast, the breaks not as bad as I had feared. I still limped when I walked, and I needed a cane, but it was better than nothing. The cuts on the rest of me were turning into nice scars, the ones on my throat the worst of them all. Three jagged lines to remind me of his claws...as if the nightmares weren’t enough.

Running a hand down my face, I slipped out of bed and grabbed my cane. I knew I wasn’t going to get anymore sleep anytime soon. Usually when this happened I would just sit by the window and watch the night go by but tonight...tonight I wanted to walk. I was only in a black tank top and dark blue sleep shorts but I wasn’t worried about anyone seeing me; it was late enough that everyone should still be sleeping.

I made my way down the hall and to the stairs, wanting to get used to walking down them with a cane to help. I had been using the lift so much that I was becoming dependant on it and I couldn’t have that. As I got closer to the bottom, music started drifting up to me. It was faint at first, but as I got closer to the lobby, I recognized it as a piano. When I reached the last step, I noticed the door to the music room was open a bit and there was a faint light glowing inside. Curiosity got the better of me and I limped my way over, peering through the crack to see who was playing.

Sitting at the piano was Alastor. His eyes were closed as his fingers danced along the keys. It was a slow, beautiful song that made me think of snow falling; peaceful and elegant. I took a step forward and bumped into the door, causing it to creak open a bit more. I winced, expecting Alastor to stop playing, but he didn’t.

“Are you going to stay by the door all night?” He asked, his voice soft. His eyes never opened but he tilted his head towards me.

“S-sorry...” I stepped into the room a bit more. “I heard you playing and I guess I got caught up in it.” Finally opening his eyes, Alastor glanced over at me and nodded his head towards the empty spot on the bench beside him. I was hesitant to move at first but shook it off and made my way over to the piano. Once I had seated myself beside him, Alastor turned back to the instrument and continued playing. I watched his hands fly across the keys, his claws making tiny clicks as they came into contact.

“Do you play?” Alastor suddenly asked, his eyes back on me.

“A little,” I replied. “I haven’t since I came down here but when I was alive, I used to. My mother said I needed to learn some sort of instrument. I ended up picking up two; piano and violin.” I smiled at the memory of playing while my mother worked away on one of her projects. She was a painter and would often ask me to play while she worked.

“Do you remember anything by heart?”

“A few things. They’re small but I played them every day.”

Alastor finished his piece and moved over a bit, gesturing to the keys. “Then by all means.”

Biting my lip, I placed my hands on the piano and tested out the first few notes. Adding my second hand, the music began to flow forth. It was just as smooth as I remembered it being and the rush of finally playing one of my favourites was exhilarating.

“Beautiful.” Alastor commented. I smiled slightly as the song came to a close, the final notes echoing through the room. “Very beautiful.” I pulled my hands away from the keys and set them on my lap.

“I used to play that all the time,” I explained. “There’s just something about it...I don’t know.”

“Music has a way of opening us up,” Alastor began playing again as he spoke. “It lets the soul feel free.” The tune he played now was more light and carefree and I could feel what he meant; it made me want to dance a bit. “You’re very interesting, Amelia.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I teased, an easy smile resting on my face. Alastor laughed.

“A good thing,” he replied. “You’re attitude towards everything never falters, despite what horrid things may happen to you.” My smile fell a bit as the nightmare came back to me.

“Because I have to,” I said quietly. “Even when I was alive, I never showed anyone that I was anything but okay. I couldn’t. So, I smiled and acted like I didn’t have a care in the world. Even if the world was crushing me.”

“Are you being crushed now?” He wondered.

“Yes.” My voice was barely above a whisper. Alastor suddenly stopped playing and turned fully towards me, carefully swinging one leg over the bench so he was straddling it. I saw him reach towards me from the corner of my eye and I involuntarily winced, which made him pause. “Sorry.”

“My dear, do you know why I always smile?” He asked softly, his hand falling to his lap. I shook my head. “Because I believe that not doing so shows weakness to my enemies and my would be enemies. If I am able to smile even through the most terrible pain, it shows that I am more powerful than they understand. So my advice to you is to keep smiling and show them you are more powerful.” I only hummed in response. Reaching up, I traced the three claw marks on my neck, the skin still slightly raised and bumpy. Alastor watched me, his eyes faintly glowing red.

“I...should go,” I sighed. “It’s going to be morning soon. I need to try and get _some_ sleep.” I got up and started for the door but stopped when Alastor grabbed my wrist. I glanced over my shoulder at him and watched as his stood up, moving closer to me. I thought he was going to pass on some more advise but instead he grabbed a lock of my hair and twirled it around his finger, bringing it to his face and inhaling. His eyes closed and for a moment I was struck dumb; what was he doing? It was over as quickly as it had begun. He moved away but his hand was still holding me in place.

“Goodnight,” he murmured before finally letting me go. Blinking, I turned around and left the room as fast as I could with my damned limp. My mind was racing the entire trek back to my room and even after I had crawled back under the covers. What was that all about? He was so weird, always popping up randomly and scaring the others or just wandering the halls, looking like he was plotting something. But that...that was a different weird. What made it worse was the butterflies currently dancing around in my stomach. I was definitely not getting anymore sleep that night.

\- - -

I eased my way downstairs, the smell of bacon drifting up to me and making my stomach growl. I had eventually fallen back asleep around four in the morning, only to be woken up four hours later by a loud crash and Angel laughing. Sighing, I had gotten up and changed into a flowy, light green dress. Now, as I hit the last step and headed towards the dining area, I was glad for my choice of clothing; it was going to be a hot one today. Angel was already fanning himself with four fans.

“Morning Red,” Angel greeted lazily. “Love the dress.”

“Yeah! It’s a lovely shade on you!” Charlie nodded. Her and Vaggie were also in dresses, Charlie in a white one and Vaggie in a deep purple. Husk, as usual, was sitting at the bar drinking and Nifty had taken her spot at the dining table. Nifty was a curious thing; I had no idea what her deal was with Alastor but she seemed happy to just clean everything and anything. Most of our conversations were about cleaning too.

“Thanks,” I said as I took a seat next to Angel. “Summer time calls for light dresses.” Hell had ‘seasons’, like Earth but horribly different; summer was super hot most days, winter was an Ice Age and then fall and spring were practically nonexistent. We had maybe a week of either and that was about it.

“True that.” Angel himself was wearing booty shorts and nothing else. I couldn’t imagine what the heat was like with fur. Just then, Alastor came through the kitchen doors, holding trays of food. “Oh finally! I’m starving over here!” Alastor had taken it upon himself to do all the cooking until Charlie was able to hire someone full time, something that nobody really complained about. The man could cook.

“I could make it so you don’t eat for the next two weeks,” Alastor threatened, his smile tightening into something sinister. He set the trays down in front of us, piles of scrambled eggs and bacon on them. Angel paid him no mind, instead digging into the food and heaping it onto his plate.

“Save some for us, Angel,” I laughed. I felt a claw trace around my shoulder and looked up, meeting Alastor’s gaze. His smile had turned soft.

“Good morning, Amelia!” He greeted me. “Sleep well?”

“Uh...sure.” I replied. He nodded and went back into the kitchen. Shaking my head, I turned back to the food and started putting some on my plate. The others, thankfully, hadn’t noticed that exchange.

As soon as I took the first bite, I nearly moaned in happiness. Bacon was literally the food of the gods and I was so glad we were allowed it down here. Just as I was about to take another bite, a cup of tea was placed in front of me.

“Three sugars, right?” Alastor asked. “I can’t understand how you can drink something so sweet.”

“Because she’s a sour puss,” Angel snickered. My arm shot out and hit him, making him drop his bacon on the floor. “Oh way to go!”

“If your pig eats it, does it count as cannibalism?” I asked, tilting my head at Angel. He opened his mouth and raised a finger, thought about it, opened his mouth again and then gave up. As if he knew we were talking about him, Fat Nuggets came scurrying down the stairs, oinking happily.

“To answer your question, yes it does,” Alastor said as he pulled out a chair next to me and sat down. “Actually, I think this was one of that creature’s family members.”

“EEK!” Angel screamed and pushed away from the table, causing the chair to fall down.

“Alastor!” Charlie scolded. Vaggie was trying to hide a smirk at Angel’s reaction while Nifty took another big bite out of her piece of bacon. “That wasn’t funny.”

“It was kind of funny,” I mumbled, snickering.

“You, sir, are horrid!” Angel huffed. “How dare you suggest I have eaten anyone from Fat Nuggets’ family.”

“I mean, if you think about it,” Vaggie joined in. “The chances of it actually happening...”

“NOOO!” Angel scooped Fat Nuggets up and stalked off, sweet talking the small pig. “I would never do such a thing! Daddy promises that I’ll only eat pigs you don’t know.”

“Well that was fun,” I commented. Husk snorted and took another swig from his bottle. “Charlie?”

“Yes?” Charlie turned towards me, his big eyes meeting mine.

“Is there any chance that you’d be willing to actually let me go _out_ so I can get more books?” I asked as sweetly as I could. It hadn’t slipped past me that they were trying to keep me hidden away inside, wanting to limit the chances of anyone from the diner seeing me. Even now, I could see Charlie bite her lip as she tried to think up a way to turn me down. “Charlie I can only stay inside for so long before I go insane.”

“I know it’s not ideal,” she sighed. “And I know you feel like it’s safe but...”

“But...?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Jules has gone underground,” Vaggie explained. “So it’s likely he has eyes everywhere. We’re lucky they haven’t come knocking on our door yet. You’re safer inside until we can find out where he is.”

“Plus, you literally had twenty-five books brought over. How are you done them already?” Charlie asked. I just stared at her, unblinking. “What?”

“Perhaps I can offer a solution,” Alastor spoke up. “I occupy one of the two suites upstairs and have managed to build an impressive library over my years down here. You are more than welcome to any of the books.”

“Perfect! Problem solved!” Charlie clapped. She picked up her plate and pushed away from the table, heading for the kitchen.

“I still want out!” I yelled towards her but she ignored me. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples.

“Your food is getting cold,” Alastor commented. Opening my eyes, I looked down at the food but the thought of eating at that moment wasn’t bearable. However, my mother always told me to not be rude so I picked up the fork anyways and ate the rest that was on my plate before chasing it with the tea. As I got up to put the dishes in the sink, Vaggie watched me with a concerned look that I shrugged off.

Once my dishes were cleaned and put away, I headed back upstairs. I noticed about half way to my room that I forgot my cane at the table but shrugged it off. I seemed to be doing fine without it. As I neared my door, I noticed Alastor standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall and twirling his microphone. His face was tilted skywards, eyes closed and a huge grin on his face. I paused for a moment, considering just turning and going the other way, but I knew that he knew I was there already.

“Alastor.” I greeted as I got closer.

“Amelia.” He said my name slowly, turning his head to face me. “You left this.” From his other hand, he held up my cane.

“Thanks,” I said quietly and grabbed it. Alastor didn’t let go though; instead he used it as a way to pull me closer to him, until we were flush with one another, the only thing dividing us was the cane. “What are you doing?” His eyes searched mine, looking for something. I raised my eyebrow as I waited, the intensity of his stare making blood rush to my face. He suddenly moved away so he was on the other side of the hallway from me.

“I came up here to ask if you wanted to see my library!” He exclaimed. “Might as well, since Charlie has made it so you literally can’t do anything else!”

“Thanks for the reminder,” I groaned. Looking over at him, I noticed he was offering his hand to me. I knew for a fact that Alastor hated being touched by anyone unless he initiated it and, while this was kind of like him initiating it, it felt different. I eyed him, trying to see if he was going to pull something, and he waited patiently while I had my inner war. Hesitantly, I reached over and grabbed his hand, inhaling sharply as his claws closed over my skin. Turning on his heel, Alastor led me back down the hallway and to the lifts. The constant crackle of static was the only noise between the two of us, the carpet hushing our footsteps. The hotel was about twenty-five floors, the last two floors dedicated to the large suites Charlie, Vaggie and Alastor lived in. Charlie and Vaggie, having had first dips on which suite they got, ended up choosing the one over looking Pentagram City. Alastor got the one looking towards the forest.

When we reached the twenty-fourth floor, the lift stopped and Alastor led me to his door, letting go of my hand so he could unlock it. It was then that I noticed _he hadn’t let go the entire lift up._ Eyes wide, I followed him inside. It was dark, the curtains pulled so only a little light filtered in. Flicking on a nearby light switch, Alastor headed farther into the apartment, taking off his suit jacket as he did and hanging it on a near by coat hanger.

I slowly made my way in, looking around at everything; the comfiest looking couches I have ever laid eyes on, deer skulls and hunting rifles adorning the walls, a huge fireplace and hardwood floor that was broken up by a plush carpet underneath the couches. A small set up stairs led up to another landing where I could see a kitchen. To say I was jealous was an understatement.

“The library is this way, dear,” Alastor said. Turning towards him, I saw he had gone up the stairs and started down a hallway I hadn’t noticed before. Following, I was led into what looked like an office. I stopped dead in my tracks as I looked up at the giant bookcases behind the office desk, all five of them filled with books.

“Whoa...” my mouth dropped open. “All these are _yours?_ ”

“Like I said, I have quite the collection,” Alastor grinned. “I must say, I am glad to find someone who has similar tastes in pass times. Demons these days would rather shred the books rather than read them.”

“I don’t understand why,” I replied. “Reading is...it’s amazing! I used to do it all the time when I was alive. I’d read for hours, sitting by the window as the world went by...it was my escape.” Casting my eyes down, I was flooded with memories from when I was still alive. Friends, family and the one person I wished I could forget more than anything. He was always there, in the back of my mind. Laughing.

“There is one rule though,” Alastor started. He walked over to the bookshelf and ran a hand, almost lovingly, down the spines of the books. “The books have to stay in this apartment. I don’t want Angel ruining these. Some of them are older than you can imagine.”

“Sounds fair,” I nodded. I approached the bookcases carefully, eyeing the titles. He had everything classic like Jekyll and Hyde to Gone with the Wind and some newer things like Stephen King. I gasped when I saw an edition of Anne Rice’s ‘Violin’. I had only read it once in my life and I never saw it again after that. I slid the book out of the bookcase and cradled it in my hands, staring down at the cover. I could feel Alastor’s eyes on me as I studied the book and a chill ran up my spine.

“That is an excellent choice,” his voice whispered in my ear and I jumped back, not expecting him to be so close. His eyes narrowed a bit and he grinned at my reaction. “I have some work to do right now but you’re welcome to start reading. The chair by the fireplace is quite comfy.” He pointed to one side of the room where a dark red couch and matching chair sat. Biting my lip, I made my way over and curled up on the chair, opening the book. Alastor settled in at his desk, grabbing a pen and shuffling some papers around before getting to work.

I wasn’t sure how much time passed, my world suddenly became the book. Every sound, every feeling went out the door as I turned the pages and became part of that world. I almost literally devoured it, inhaling every emotion it brought forth as my mind produced images of the story being spun.

Eventually, I was brought out of my trance by knocking at the front door. Blinking, I looked up from the book, frowning slightly that I was interrupted. Apparently Alastor had the same thought because he gave a huff of annoyance before getting up and going to answer. I settled back into the chair, attention going back to the book. I heard Alastor quietly speaking with someone, the other person’s voice too soft to make out who it was. A few minutes later, Alastor came back carrying two plates, setting them both down on the coffee table in front of me. Peeking over the book, I saw two sandwiches and some chips.

“Charlie figured we’d be hungry by now,” Alastor explained, sitting down on the couch across from me. I put the book down and unfurled myself from the chair, wincing as my legs protested at the sudden movement. I grabbed the plate and picked up one half of my sandwich, my stomach growling at the prospect of food. The two of ate in silence, which I didn’t mind. Usually if it was this quiet, I would feel the need to fill it with conversation but with Alastor I didn’t. It was comfortable, not talking. I was comfortable.

After I finished my lunch, I set the plate down and stretched, my back popping in a few places.

“You’ve gotten quite far in that,” Alastor commented, pointing at the book. I smiled sheepishly and lowered my arms.

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’m a sucker for a good story.”

“Yes, it is hard to let go of something like that,” Alastor agreed, setting his plate down beside mine. “And you have all of eternity to enjoy it too.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking. Well, I was talking. Alastor was asking questions about what my life was like when I was alive. He never went for the obvious; why I was down here. I was thankful for that. I didn’t need someone else knowing every dark secret I had. And now knowing Alastor’s reputation, I knew better than to give him information he could use against me. I really wanted to avoid that quid pro quo. But even despite knowing who he was, it was nice talking to him. Sometime during it, I had gotten up to put the book back on the shelf but instead of sitting on the chair again, I sat beside him on the couch. Now we were both facing each other, Alastor’s arm resting over the back of the couch.

Around four, we started heading downstairs so he could get dinner going. On our way down, the lift stopped at one of the floors and Angel walked in, pausing for a second when he saw us.

“There you are!” He practically yelled. “I was about to send out a search party for ya.”

“I’ve been here the entire time.” I shook my head at him.

“Ugh but you weren’t with me,” Angel whined. “I was bored.” We got to the lobby and Angel grabbed my hand, pulling me to the TV room. “Come on, there’s a really great movie about to start and you’re watching it with me.”

“Whoa!” I lost my balance momentarily as Angel dragged me to the TV room. I was able to right myself after a moment and looked over my shoulder at Alastor, giving him an apologetic smile before turning back around. Sighing, I flopped onto the couch while Angel flipped through the TV channels. When he found the one he wanted, he came over and lifted my head up so he could sit down, letting me lay on him while we waited for the movie to start. Despite the rough and tough front he tended to put up around the others, Angel really was a sweetheart. But I would never admit that out loud to anything. Had to keep his credibility in check after all.

The movie was actually kind of boring. It was Hell’s take on Romeo and Juliet and they just completely ruined it. About halfway through I ended up nodding off, the noise from the TV not even bothering me. It wasn’t until I was being poked that I realized the movie was over.

“Hey kid, ya fell asleep on me. Literally.” Angel said, poking my cheek. “Alastor said food is ready. Get up.” Cracking my eyes open, I blinked up at Angel. “Yeesh. If I had known that was going to be your reaction to the movie, I wouldn’t have invited ya.”

“I didn’t get sleep last night,” I said as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Angel started laughing and I looked over at him, confused.

“Your hair is a mess!” He giggled. “Turn back around.” I did as I was told and felt his hands start combing through my hair, pulling the strands back and getting them into a braid.

“You’re too furry,” I complained. “It creates static.”

“Nobody told you to fall asleep like that, bitch.” Angel laughed again, tugging at my hair some more. “There. You’re good to go. Now come on. Dinner smells amazing.” We headed for the dining area where an amazing looking roast was sitting, surrounded by carrots and potatoes. My mouth started watering at the sight and I hurried over to my seat. How Alastor managed to pull off an entire roast in just a few hours amazed me.

Speaking of, he was already seated in the chair next to mine, an easy smile on his face as he eyed my hair. Reaching over, Alastor grabbed the end of it and tugged a little, making me stick my tongue out at him. He chuckled quietly, letting go of my hair and turning to the others. I noticed Vaggie was giving me another concerned look but she looked away when we made eye contact. Hmm.

Dinner went by more peacefully than breakfast had; Angel more than happy to eat beef. Husk decided to join us at the table too, but he didn’t say much other than tell Angel to fuck off. It was nice, talking and laughing with everyone. For a moment, I forgot where we were; I forgot who were were what what we did. In that moment, we just friends having dinner together and enjoying each others company. It was so very nice.

After dinner, all of us moved to the TV room where Nifty pulled out some board games. Husk and Alastor declined playing but the rest of us were all in. At some point, Angel produced some liquor and started passing it around. Charlie and Vaggie passed but Nifty was quick to take some. I, myself, was not a big drinker but still accepted it when Angel handed it over. I quickly regretted that decision though when I took a swig and fire burned the entire way down.

“What the hell is that?” I demanded, coughing. “Battery acid?”

“Lightweight,” Angel snickered. “This hear is the best money can buy. It was gift from one of my clients.”

“Gross.” I shuddered.

“Light. Weight.” Angel shrugged and chugged the liquor. We played for a few more hours but I could feel the lack of sleep catching up to me again. Yawning, I got up and stretched.

“I feel that,” Charlie smiled. Vaggie was already dozing on the couch beside her.

“I’ll clean this up!” Nifty said, already zooming around. Alastor, who had been reading, got up as well and made his way over to me.

“I’ll walk you to your room!” He said proudly, offering me his arm. Angel gave me a weird look, as did Charlie, but I just shrugged at them and accepted Alastor’s offer. So he was being nice. It wasn’t like he was expecting me to give him my soul or anything. Heh...

We were both quiet on the way up to my room, Alastor again opting for the lift instead of the stairs. I had disentangled myself from him, despite him trying to hold onto my hand, and crossed my arms around my stomach. When the lift doors open, Alastor put a hand on the small of my back and we headed down the hallway.

“Well, here I am,” I said, rolling on the balls of my feet as we stopped in front of my room. I turned towards Alastor who was, of course, already looking at me; his eyes were narrowed slightly but he still had on his big grin. Slowly, as if not to frighten me, he reached up and behind my head, tugging my hair out of the braids Angel had put it in. The strands fell loose around my face, a bit wavy thanks to the style, and Alastor ran his claws through it. He watched intently as the strands fell from his fingers and onto my shoulder. I held my breath as he did this, waiting to see what he was up to. When he made no other move, I instinctively raised my hand and reached for his face, my fingertips just brushing across his skin before he jerked back.

“Sorry,” I whispered, lowering my hand. He grabbed it before it fell completely, holding it lightly in his own hand.

“I just wasn’t expecting it,” he replied, just as quietly. “I’ll see you in the morning darling.” Raising my hand back up, he placed a soft kiss on my knuckles before turning on his heel and heading back to the lift. I stood there, dumbstruck, for a few moments before heading into my room. I crashed onto the bed, not even bothering with changing my clothes, and started at the wall. What the hell was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the song that Alastor was first playing was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkvJaOvLMio
> 
> The song Amelia started playing was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7ouDfay0Ug
> 
> And Alastor's second song is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iX_NbXQcho
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)


	4. Slowly but Surely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia is kidnapped by Angel and the results of it aren't what she was expecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awe I'm so happy everyone seems to be enjoying this :3

The next few days fell into a comfortable routine; I’d wake up, join everyone for breakfast, and then Alastor and I would head up to his suite where I would read and he would work. It was nice. Easy. I kept getting weird looks from the others but it wasn’t like anything wrong was happening. We were just...hanging out; that’s what friends do. So why did I feel like I was sneaking off on everyone? On the fourth day of this happening, Vaggie pulled me aside. I had come down to grab some lunch and almost yelled when I was suddenly grabbed and shoved against a wall.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” She demanded, hands on her hips and a frown on her lips.

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

“Hanging out with _him_?” She clarified. “You do know he’s one of the most dangerous sinners we’ve ever seen, right?”

“He hasn’t done anything to me,” I pointed out.

“ _Yet._ ” Vaggie’s frown turned deeper. Her eye flicked over the shadows surrounding us, like Alastor could be listening in on our conversation. “Amy, you have got to be careful. I said the same thing to Charlie; I don’t trust him. We don’t know what he’s up to. And...”

“And...?” I pressed.

“The way he looks at you...it’s like he’s considering eating you.” She shuddered. “He was a cannibal before he came down here and probably still is.” Now it was my turn to frown; I hadn’t known that.

“I mean, if that’s true, he probably looks at everyone like that,” I tried to reason. “There isn’t anything special about me. I’m probably, like, way low on his dinner list.”

“Amy, this is serious,” Vaggie shook her head. “Even Charlie is worried. You’re spending a lot of time with him. And he’s very touchy with you.”

“He’s touchy with everyone.” I waved off her concern; Alastor made it a point to get into everyone’s personal space at least five times a day.

“Just be careful, okay?” Vaggie sighed. “Everyone here likes you. Even Husk, although I doubt he’d ever admit that. But he has voiced his concerns. He’s known the Radio Demon longer than any of us and this is not normal behaviour for him.” I crossed my arms and considered her words carefully. I knew he was acting weird around me, I just didn’t want to admit that it meant anything.

“Alright. I’ll be careful.” I finally said. Vaggie sighed again, this time contently, and nodded.

“I’ll talk to Charlie about letting you go out somewhere,” she said. “I’m sure you’re still going stir crazy in here.” With that, Vaggie left me to my own devices. Alastor had gone upstairs ahead of me but what Vaggie had said got me thinking. I mean, there was nothing special about me so why would he act any different when I was around? He wouldn’t. Compared to him, I was a lowly demon. He was a freaking overlord, someone who managed to wield powers no one had ever seen before. I was just me.

Shaking my head, I headed for the lift and pressed the button for the top floor. About half way up, the lift stopped and Angel waltzed in.

“Ah! Just the demon I was lookin’ for!” He announced and threw an arm around my shoulders. “What do you say to a night on the town? You, me, Cherri Bomb and a shit load of drinks.”

“Uh...” I blinked up at him. “I haven’t been allowed to go out yet.”

“Well that’s why it’s a kidnapping,” Angel replied, readjusting his chest fluff. “Cherri and I are breakin’ you out, kid. We’ll go clubbing, grab a few boys to dance with and call it a night.”

“I...I don’t know,” I bit my lip. It would be fun to go out and dance. I hadn’t done that in a long time. Plus, Angel and Cherri could keep me safe if they had to...

“Come on, kid! We’ll make ya look like a star.”

“Mmmmmm.....Okay.” I nodded. Angel danced in excitement and pressed the button for the lobby.

“Alright, baby. When I say run, you run!” He instructed. We waited as the lift went down and as soon as the doors opened... “Run!” We broke out into a sprint, running past Charlie and Vaggie who both had shocked looks on their faces. Husk looked up from his bottle and gave a gruff laugh as he watched us make our escape. We barely missed crashing into Nifty who was busy sweeping the floors and then we were outside and Angel was shoving me into the back of Cherri Bomb’s car.

“Hang on back there!” Cherri yelled as she gunned it. I looked through the back window and saw Charlie and Vaggie running after us and...and Alastor at the door, still smiling but confused and almost looking hurt. Wincing, I turned back around and looked over at Angel who was howling in laughter.

“Did you see their faces?!” He demanded, cackling away. “Oh man. This is the best idea we’ve ever had.”

“Yeah it is,” Cherri agreed. “Alright, doll. Ready to get made up?”

“Oh yeah.” I grinned. The excitement was getting to me again as we drove away.

“First things first though,” Angel said, holding up a finger.

“Shopping!” Cherri and Angel spoke at the same time. Laughing, Cherri drove us to what was apparently ‘ _the_ store to get clothes’, according to her and Angel. The place itself was dimly lit and a lot of what they sold shouldn’t have even been considered clothes since there wasn’t much going on with them but I did end up finding a really hot, skin tight, black dress. It was strapless and stopped just below my knees. I found some awesome, strappy heels to go with it and a really cute choker necklace that had a small ruby in the middle of it.

Angel catcalled me when I walked out of the dressing room and I felt a blush creep up my face. He was wearing a sparkly suit jacket, black shorts and had switched out his normal thigh high boots for black ones as well. Cherri was wearing a hot pink crop top with a black ‘X’ going across her chest and black skinny jeans. Satisfied with everyone, Angel picked up the bill for all the clothes despite me complaining and then we were out of the shop and back in Cherri’s car.

“Man, I wish I had boobs like you,” Angel pouted. “You’re sticking out in all the right places. A man could drown in your cleavage!”

“Angel!” I shrieked.

“I mean it!” Angel laughed. “Geeze, kid. You gotta dirty your mind a bit more. Maybe tonight we’ll get you laid and that innocent virgin look ya got going on will go away.”

“I am not sleeping with anyone!” I huffed and crossed my arms. “I hate one night stands.”

“If I had your body, I’d be flaunting it to everyone,” Angel sighed. “You hide the goods too much.” I rolled my eyes. My mind was starting to go towards the night that Jules attacked me. After that, there was no way in Hell I was going to be able to do anything with anyone ever again. I shuddered at the mere thought of what he did to me. And speaking of Jules, my eyes were now darting everywhere, trying to make sure he wasn’t around. The last thing I needed was to see him. Charlie had said he’d gone underground but that didn’t mean he couldn’t come back up every once and a while.

We got to Cherri’s place fairly quickly and I was led inside to a bedroom where more makeup than I could count was on display. Cherri sat me down and eyed my hair, putting her hands on her hips. Angel sat on her bed and watched, sometimes piping up with a suggestion. In the end, they figured a simple up do would work. First, Cherri curled my hair so it was in soft ringlets before gathering it up and putting the strands into a high ponytail. A few stray wisps cascaded around me which Cherri left alone, stating it looked better like that.

Next was makeup. She did a simple smoky look with greys and blacks, bringing out the purple in my eyes even more. She lightly dusted my cheeks with blush and added some red lipstick to finish the look. Standing back, her and Angel admired me as I stared at myself in the mirror, not really recognizing who it was staring back. I looked...incredible.

“Baby, you are going to be the star of the show tonight!” Angel cooed. I got up to allow Cherri to do her hair and makeup, Angel leaning into the reflection so he could add some black eyeliner. By the time they were ready to go, it was almost nine.

“Alright sluts!” Cherri grinned, her eye narrowing. “Let’s do this.”

The club we were going to was called NV. It was a really popular place for demons to go to, mostly because a lot of the royals went there as well. When I went through the door, I could see why they higher ups liked it; everything was done in reds and blacks, the spacious dance floor had rainbow tiles that changes with the beat of the music, there was a diamond chandelier over the dance floor that reflected the strobing lights and there were even private rooms for those who were willing to pay the money for them. The bar had every alcohol ever known to mankind and the bartenders all wore tuxedos. I was awe struck by it all.

“Drinks first or dance first?” Cherri asked, raising her voice to be heard over the music and all the other conversations.

“Drinks!” Angel replied. “Daddy needs something strong.” I shook my head and laughed at Angel referring himself to ‘daddy’. I ended up ordering a pink vodka lemonade, with very little vodka, which tasted divine. Drinks in hand, we staked out a table and sat down on the plush seats. Almost instantly, Cherri and Angel started picking out guys they wanted to dance with and then started choosing which ones they wanted to go home with.

When a certain song came on, Angel dragged us out to the dance floor and we started to dance the night away. Literally. It all became a blur of dancing and drinking, even though I stopped after the one vodka and stuck to virgin drinks. Angel and Cherri, however, made sure to get the drinks that were loaded with liquor.

A few guys came up to us at one point and asked if they could join us, which Angel quickly said yes to. He was now practically attached to one of them, trying to sweet talk his way into the guy’s bed. Cherri had gone off with one of the other guys and I could see them dancing on the floor, very closely. The third guy had his arm around the back of the seat and was talking to me.

He was good looking...ish. He was an imp, with red skin and black hair; a bit shorter than me and spoke with an Australian accent.

“So, love,” he said, smoothing his hair back. “What’s say you and I head on out that back door there and have ourselves a good time in my car. Eh?”

“N-no thanks,” I politely declined. “I’m, uh, not here for that. Just wanted to hang out with some friends is all.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, baby,” the imp slurred, getting closer to me. “I’m the best looking dude in this place. You’d be crazy to say no.”

“Guess I’m crazy then,” I laughed nervously, moving away.

“Well I don’t accept that.” He reached for me then, like he was going to tear my dress off then and there. I slapped his hand away and stood up, trying to put as much space between us as I could. “Hey! Don’t be a bitch!” That pulled Angel out of the horny state he was just in.

“What’s going on?” Angel asked, looking up at me.

“Dumb broad doesn’t know how to show someone a good time,” the imp sneered. “ _That’s_ what’s wrong.” Angel was suddenly removing himself from the other demon and stood between me and the imp. He was extremely drunk so I didn’t know if he’d be any good in a fight but it was the thought that counted.

“Listen here ya little bitch,” Angel snarled. “You ain’t as good lookin’ as you think ya are. Now if I was you, I’d be getting outta here before our friends show up. We got some powerful friends, ya see. And I ain’t afraid of siccin’ em on scum like you.” I grabbed one of Angel’s arms and tugged, looking around for Cherri. She was no where to be found.

“Angel, let’s just go,” I said. “I don’t want to be here anymore and I think Cherri ditched us.”

“But this piece of shit-”

“Isn’t worth it.” I cut Angel off. “Can we just go?” Angel huffed but nodded, straightening out his bow tie. Linking his arm with mine, we headed for the doors. Angel stumbled a bit, a curse coming out of his mouth as he did.

“I don’t think I can drive, toots,” he confessed.

“That’s fine,” I sighed. “I’ll call Charlie. She’s probably still up waiting for us.” I took out my hellphone and dialed Charlie’s number, biting my lip as I waited for her to pick up.

“ _Where are you?!_ ” She demanded as soon as she answered. I winced at how loud she was.

“NV. A nightclub. Can you come get us? Angel can’t drive.”

“ _Yes, I will be there shortly with the limo. Just wait outside._ ” She sighed and hung up and I instantly felt bad. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea.

Not too long after, Charlie’s limo pulled up. She opened the back door and helped me get Angel inside the vehicle. As soon as we were seated, I was expecting to be reamed out by her but she stayed quiet, only looking at Angel with disappointment. Another wave of guilt washed over me; Angel was supposed to be in rehabilitation. Going out and getting drunk was supposed to be off the list. At least he hadn’t gone home with that demon.

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, only the sound of passing cars filling the void. After we had pulled up, Charlie had to practically carry Angel inside since he was drifting off to sleep and still very much drunk. Vaggie was no where to be seen so I didn’t have to worry about a lecture from her just yet. Sighing, I made my way to my room. As I opened the door, I nearly screamed. Two red, glowing eyes were staring at me in the darkness of my room. I flicked on the light and found Alastor standing by the window, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, a manic grin on his face.

“Fucking Hell, Al,” I huffed. “You nearly scared me to death.” I walked inside my room and closed the door, not wanting to bring attention to us. “Why are you in here?”

“I was waiting for that lunch you promised me,” he replied, a bit coldly. He took his monocle off and cleaned it with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. I winced at the tone in his voice.

“I...was kidnapped?” I offered. His eyes wandered down my body, taking in how I was dressed.

“A kidnapper who dresses you up like that. Must have been Angel.” Alastor turned away from me and looked out the window. I didn’t like how he said that. ‘ _Like that_ ’. Like there was something wrong with how I looked. Maybe there was...

“I’m sorry.” I suddenly said. One of Alastor’s ears twitched but he made no other movement. “I had to go out. When Angel asked me to go with him and Cherri, I couldn’t say no. I needed to see something other than the inside of this hotel.” I walked up to him, moving to place my hand on his arm but I stopped myself. “I...I didn’t think about how worried everyone would be.”

“Worried.” Alastor said softly and I almost didn’t hear him.

“I am sorry. I’m a terrible friend,” I sighed. “You’ve been a much better friend than I was today and that is no way to repay you.”

“Friend?” Alastor asked, slowly. He turned his head towards me, his eyes narrowing. “We’re...friends?” The static increased slightly as he said that.

“I-I-I would like to think so,” I stuttered, eyes going wide. “I mean, I hope so.” He turned fully to face me, his eyes still narrowed, as he thought over my words.

“I don’t think anyone has ever willingly called themselves my friend before,” he stated. His grin softened a bit at the edges as he looked down at me.

“That is incredibly sad,” I replied. “I am sorry if I worried you today.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing, my dear,” Alastor brought his hand up and cupped my face, his thumb running across my cheek bone. “Even if Angel did get drunk, I knew he would look out for you. Somewhat.” He looked back down at what I was wearing before his eyes trailed up to mine again. “You do look beautiful.” Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him, my head resting on his chest. Alastor froze up, unsure of what to do. Eventually, his arms circled around my waist. His movements were slow and jerky, like he might break me. Or he might break. I closed my eyes when he finally relaxed, his chin resting on the top of my head. One of his hands ran up my back and into my hair, pulling it out of it’s pins and elastic so it fell around my face.

After a moment, I pulled away and felt Alastor’s arms unwind from around me. When I looked up, he seemed shocked at what just happened which caused me to laugh a little bit.

“I should go to bed,” I said quietly. “It’s late and I have a feeling I’m getting a talking to tomorrow from Charlie and Vaggie.”

“Yes,” Alastor chuckled. “I do believe that little spitfire has some choice words for you. Mostly Angel though.” He leaned down a bit and placed a kiss on my forehead before heading to the door. “Sweet dreams, darling.” Alastor closed the door behind him and I headed straight for the bathroom to wash off all the makeup. I had to admit, though, I did look damn fine. Cherri really outdid herself.

Once I was makeup free, I changed into my tank top and sleep shorts and crawled under the covers, moaning slightly at how cool they were. Sleep came quickly that night and boy did I sleep. It wasn’t until noon the next day that I cracked an eyes open as the sun filtered in through the curtains.

Groaning, I sat up and stretched, my body protesting slightly after not having moved all night. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I threw on a pair of sweats and a bra under my tank before I headed downstairs to greet the others. Surprising no one, Angel wasn’t up yet either and I suspected he wouldn’t be up all day. Yawning, I pulled my hair into a messy bun so it wasn’t in my face, deciding I’d properly deal with it later when I had more energy. As soon as I set foot in the lobby, I heard footsteps running towards me and suddenly Vaggie was in my face.

“You!” She nearly screeched.

“Good morning to you too,” I replied. I heard a quiet snort and found Husk trying to hide a smile.

“Do you have _any_ idea how worried you made us?” Vaggie growled. “What were you thinking? Jules could be anywhere and you go off to get drunk with _Angel?!_ ”

“One, I didn’t drink,” I pointed out, moving past her. “Two, I was kidnapped by Angel. So really, you can’t be mad at me.”

“Like Hell I can’t!”

“Calm down Vaggie,” Charlie put a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. I gave her a small smile of gratitude. “Amelia has been stuck in here for almost two months now. Of course she’d want to go out when given the option.”

“But-”

“And she knew to call as soon as it was needed,” Charlie continued. “If she had been in trouble, Angel would have helped her out. Let her get some breakfast.”

“Well I’m still going to yell at Angel for this too.” Vaggie huffed. “He’s supposed to be getting better! Not going back to his old antics!”

“Rehabilitation takes time, dear Vaggie,” Alastor walked up beside me then, his familiar static white noise surrounding me. “Even on Earth. You should know that. Humans tend to always fall back into old habits.”

“I still don’t like it.” Vaggie crossed her arms and glared at Alastor who just grinned in return. Alastor put his arm around me and pulled me away from the fuming demon.

“You must be starving, darling,” he said as we walked into the kitchen. “I made sure to save some breakfast for you. You sit at the island and I’ll get it.” The kitchen was honestly my favourite place to be sometimes. Not only did delicious food come out of it but it was just nice and organized and kind of pretty. Charlie had taken all the old stoves and ovens out and replaced them with stainless steel ones, along with a giant walk in fridge and freezer. There was an island that sat in the middle of the room, a few chairs set around it for occasions such as this, and a small table off to the side.

Alastor was currently pulling a plate out of the oven, not even bothering with an oven mitt. He placed the plate in front of me and I hummed happily at the sight of French Toast and sausages, one of my favourites. As I ate, he started to clean up the kitchen. I was surprised he had waited this long to do so, usually it was one of the first things he did after cooking. After a few moments of silence, a jazzy tune started to flow from him and I smiled, swaying in my seat to the music. As if sensing what I was doing, Alastor came around the island and pulled me from my seat before spinning me around the kitchen in a dance.

A grin broke out on my face as he twirled me away and then towards him. His grin was just as bright, his steps light and precise. I expected no less from him; of course he’d know how to properly dance. I rested my head against his shoulder as we spun and felt him tense up a bit before relaxing. I wondered if he’d ever stop doing that or if it was just a part of him that would never go away. Wanting to test it, I turned my face towards his neck, my nose brushing against the collar of his coat. Again, he tensed a bit, less than before but still there. I sighed, wishing he didn’t feel the need to do that with me.

“I’m learning,” he whispered into my ear, almost as if he could hear my thoughts. My grip on his hand tightened a little before I loosened up again, telling him I understood. We made a few more spins around the kitchen before the music came to an end. I thought he was going to pull away immediately but instead, he moved the hand that had been holding mine to my waist while mine moved to his shoulder. We stood like that for a bit, his heart beating softly in my ear.

“Holy shit!” Someone suddenly shrieked. Alastor moved away from my so fast I almost fell, blinking at the sudden loss of contact. Looking towards the door to the kitchen, I saw Angel standing there with Fat Nuggets in his arms, a look of adoration on his face. “No! I ruined the moment!”

“How long were you standing there?” I demanded.

“Somewhere in the middle of the dance,” Angel replied. “It was really sweet and I didn’t want to interrupt it.” I blinked slowly and Angel got this ‘oh shit’ look on his face and a moment later I could feel why; my horns started growing a bit, a sign that I was angry. Screaming, Angel put Fat Nuggets down and started running while I chased after him. “She’s gonna kill me!” He cried out as we ran past Charlie, Vaggie and Husk. Nifty, thankfully, learned from last time and moved out of the way before we could mow her down.

About half way through the lobby, I caught up with Angel and tackled him, causing us to somersault over one another until we hit a wall with a loud bang.

“What have I said about spying?!” I yelled as I tried to slap him. He had so many hands though, it was hard to get through his defences. Kicking up, Angel suddenly flipped us and tried pinning me down.

“What was I supposed to do? Turn around and _leave?_ ” He shot back.

“Yes!”

“That’s....no....fun!” He grunted as he finally pinned my arms down. So instead, I started kicking. “AH!”

“Guys!” Charlie called to us. “Please stop before someone gets hurt!”

“Hurt?” Angel looked up, letting me go. “Who said anything about getting hurt? We’re just playin’.” He began to tickle me, causing me to scream in laughter.

“No! No, no, no!” I tried batting his hands away but it didn’t work.

“What? You wouldn’t be _ticklish would you?”_ Angel hummed. Bracing myself, I was able to kick him off of me and scrambled away, still giggling.

“You guys make no sense,” Vaggie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“She started it.” Angel pointed at me and stuck his tongue out.

“Me?! You’re the one who can’t keep his nose out of other people’s business!”

“Well _excuse_ me for wanting something to eat.” Angel crossed his arms and huffed, causing me to laugh again. Sighing, I stood up and brushed myself off before going to help Angel up.

“Well, I’m glad you’re all here anyways,” Charlie began, eyeing Angel and I as she spoke. “I wanted to run something by you guys.” Alastor made his way over to me and stood by my side, his hands behind his back. Angel looked between the two of us, something akin to dawningrealization on his face, before snickering and walking away.

“Alright, lay it on us,” Angel sighed as he leaned against the banister.

“I want us to host a party!” Charlie said happily. “A grand opening party, of sorts. And hopefully something that will get others to join us here.”

“What?” Husk complained. “I have to serve a party?”

“Well, we’ll obviously get caterers,” Charlie explained. “And, while we’re not supposed to be encouraging drinking from our guests, I guess we can have a two drinks only limit?” She looked at Vaggie, biting her lip, who just shrugged.

“If you think that’s the best choice, amor,” Vaggie replied. “But I still don’t think we should even have this.” Vaggie waved towards the bar.

“Why, a party sounds like a splendid idea!” Alastor suddenly spoke up. “What a way to show the crowds what you’re tying to do here!” The sound of a cheering crowd suddenly came from him, making Charlie smile.

“We all know the News interview didn’t go so well,” Charlie winced at the memory. “So I want to set things right and show them we are not a laughing stock! So what do you say guys? Wanna throw a party?” She looked at all of us so hopefully that I couldn’t refuse. Everyone else seemed to think the same because they also agreed to it. Grinning from ear to ear, Charlie danced on the spot before grabbing Vaggie and rushing off, saying something about planning. Nifty followed them, dusting as she went.

“Well I’m going to go get some food since I was so rudely interrupted before,” Angel sneered at me and I flipped him off. Asshole. Alastor grabbed my hand and twined his fingers through mine, tugging me towards the lift. I followed him, both of us quiet as we headed up to the top floor. When we got inside his suite, Alastor let go of my hand for a moment so he could remove his jacket before once again taking it and leading me over to the couch. The book I had been reading was already sitting on the coffee table, waiting for me to pick it back up.

I did just that and went to head to my usual spot in the chair but Alastor had other ideas; he tugged me towards the couch and sat us both down. I was a little confused at first until he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to his side while opening his own book. Oh. He wanted to...Oh! I felt my face heat up but got comfortable anyways and turned to the page I had left off of.

It was oddly nice, sitting like that. A small fire was blazing beside us and Alastor was giving off some heat as well; and me being the ice berg that I usually was, adored it. It was so cozy, in face, that at some point I ended up drifting off, my head lulling against Alastor’s shoulder as I was pulled under. I felt his arm tighten around me as I drifted off and I sighed happily.


	5. What is This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia has to face a question and she's not sure if she's ready for the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Fun times are ahead. So many fun times...hehehehehehe

First things first; I was not in my bed. My bed was not this soft nor did it have silk sheets. Second, I didn’t remember anything after Alastor and I sat down on the couch and started reading. So, two possibilities had occurred; someone had kidnapped me and decided a king sized bed was good enough to dump me _or_ Alastor had moved me to his room. Both options not ideal. Why? Well, the first one for obvious reasons. The second one was because I had no idea what time it was and I was in Alastor’s bedroom. A place I kind of figured I’d never see the inside of because that’s just who he is. Granted it was dark in the room so I couldn’t see much of anything anyways.

Getting up, I stumbled through the dark until I found the door. When I opened it, light flooded into the room, blinding me for a second. I blinked rapidly, waiting for sight to return, when a clawed hand landed on my shoulder.

“Leaving so soon?”

I turned around to greet Alastor but instead I met Jules’ black eyes. My own eyes widened as I let out a scream, Jules lunging for my throat and-

“AH!” I jolted awake, sitting up in bed. Panting, I looked around. Not my room. Okay. Not okay. I pinched myself and winced. Nope, wide awake. The door opened and I whirled to face it, gasping. I was expecting Jules to come in, to attack me again, but it was Alastor. He was carrying a candle, a soft and comforting glow coming off of it.

“Amelia?” Alastor came to the bedside and sat down, setting the candle on the table nearby.

“Alastor.” I sobbed and threw myself at him. I buried my face into his chest, my hands grasping the front of his shirt. “He won’t go away. No matter what I do, he’s always there.” Alastor put his arms around me and gathered me closer to him.

“Who?” He asked softly.

“Jules.” My voice was barely a whisper, my eyes wide in terror. I felt Alastor’s claws flex and dig into my skin a little bit before he eased up. He held me until my crying subsided into sniffles, his hand rubbing small circles into my back. “Sorry.” I pulled away and rubbed my eyes. Alastor grabbed my chin and made me look up at him.

“Don’t be.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes when he made contact and sighed heavily. This whole situation was a mess.

“Well, I won’t be sleeping anytime soon,” I leaned away from Alastor and opened my eyes before flopping backwards on the bed. “Know any good stories?”

“My dear, I know a great many stories,” Alastor replied, moving so he was laying beside me.

“What were you like when you were alive?” I turned my head to face him. This was still something I had no idea about and I wanted to know it all. Had he been the same? Different? Did he look the same or had his features changed much? I had so many questions!

“Why would you want to know about that?” Alastor asked. “It was so long ago.”

“I know nothing about you!” I laughed. “You’re this mystery man. You know basically everything about me by this point. It’s not fair.”

“Death isn’t fair, love.”

My heart skipped a beat at the pet name which was silly because he always used pet names. But...he had never called me ‘love’ before.

“Was it really embarrassing?” I pushed. “Were you secretly a cross dresser? Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

“You don’t give up, do you?” He sighed. I shook my head. “Very well. I was thirty-five when I died. It was nineteen thirty-three and what a time to be alive. I lived in New Orleans and you could hear Jazz music everywhere you went. And the food was to die for! There was this bakery just down from where I lived and it served the most amazing beignets.” As Alastor spoke I noticed that his smile grew more genuine and softer.

“Do you miss it?” I asked softly.

“Sometimes,” he replied. He then looked over at me and brought one of his hands up to my face, running a knuckle down my cheek. “But not as much anymore.” The room was suddenly very warm and it was getting hard to breathe. If I just tilted my head up a bit more...I quickly looked away, opting to stare at the ceiling instead of him. I thought I heard him sigh in disappointment but it was so quiet that I could have just imagined it. “Anyways. I was a radio host, a pretty famous one too.”

“Wow. That is somehow not surprising,” I giggled. He pinched my arm and I yelped.

“It was very entertaining, especially when I started talking about the on-going investigations for the murders I had committed.” A twisted smile lit of his face at that and I swallowed hard. “Ah yes. I was the talk of the town. Everybody feared me and loved me at the same time. It was wonderful.”

“Creepy.” I commented. This time, he just opted to cover my mouth with his hand. “Mmpf!” Flipping onto his side so he wasn’t dislocating his elbow, Alastor continued on with his story.

“Yes, those were the years!” The static around us started to grow and I felt my eyes widen at the intensity in his eyes as he stared off into space. “For years I was able to get away with the perfect crimes. I was picky in how I did things, you see. I never stalked my prey. No. I carefully chose who would die by my hand. It was much like playing God!”

“Mmmpf.” I tried talking around his hand but it was no use.

“What was that, dear? You’ll have to speak up!” The laugh track played around us and I narrowed my eyes. Quicker than I thought I was capable of, I shot my arm out and hit the one he was leaning against to prop himself up. I had hoped he’d fall backwards but instead he fell right on top of me, gaining an ‘oof’ out of me as he did so. Taking that moment to act, he straddled my waist and pinned my hands above my head. I expected him to make some kind of remark but instead his eyes became half lidded as he stared down at me, a small and annoying smirk on his face. Ever so slowly, he lowered himself until he was able to nuzzle his face into my neck. My own eyes fluttered closed at the feeling, my breath hitching.

Alastor inhaled, his nose skimming from the crook of my neck up to my jawbone. I felt one of his hands run down my side and rest at my hip while the other one tangled into my hair. My hands now free, I grasped his shoulders in an attempt to steady myself.

“Alastor...” I sighed as I felt his lips brush over my jugular. I moved my head, making it easier to access my neck, and he growled in response. It was low in his throat and I didn’t think he was even aware he did it. He placed little nips along my skin, going from just under my jaw to my collarbone. It was never hard enough to break the skin, but just enough that I could feel it every time. I carded my fingers through his hair and was surprised to find it incredibly soft.

Alastor sighed against me, raising himself up so he could place a kiss on each of my eyelids and one on my nose. “You’re going to be the undoing of me.” He rolled off of me, his hands catching me and bringing me with him so I was cuddled up into his side. My head on his chest, his heart beating softly under my hand, and the steady rise and fall of his chest lulled me to sleep again. For once, I wasn’t worried about nightmares or any dreams for that matter.

\- - -

The next day was hectic. Charlie had called in everybody early to start prepping for the party. Apparently she had spent all night calling some of the higher class demons to join, her parents included. Nifty had spent the night cleaning the music room and I was worried she hadn’t gotten any sleep at all but she didn’t seem bothered by it. Husk looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, and he even said as much, until Alastor suddenly appeared behind him and put a hand on Husk’s shoulder, squeezing until Husk said he’d help.

Vaggie was in charge of ordering food; Charlie wanted only the best and the best she would get. Angel and I had to come up with a theme, something interesting and eye catching. Needless to say, we had a huge list of ideas that we were trying to narrow down.

“So uh, you and Smiles, huh?” Angel asked, under his breath, as he wrote down another idea.

“What do you mean?” I asked, side eyeing him. We were laying in the middle of the room, my head on Angel’s back.

“You’ve been gettin’ pretty close,” Angel replied. “Like, _really_ close. And he doesn’t seem like the type to just do that.”

“We’re just friends.” I waved Angel off, adjusting my head so I was staring at the ceiling.

“Friends who sleep together?” Angel asked slyly. I felt my face heat up and I started to sputter.

“We didn’t...it wasn’t...we’re not...how did you know?” I finally spat out. Angel lost it laughing.

“Oh boy! I didn’t!” He chuckled. “You just confirmed it!”

“Hey! No having fun!” Charlie called from across the room, smiling. “You’re supposed to be working.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Angel called back, saluting.

“We did not have sex or anything,” I whispered harshly. “I fell asleep on his couch and he moved me to his room. Then I had a nightmare and we both fell asleep...on the bed. It was nothing!”

“Calm your tits,” Angel shook his head. “I’m only tryin ta get a rise outta ya. But seriously, you guys have been getting pretty close.”

“We’re close,” I pointed out, motioning between me and him. “In fact, I think we’re as close as close can be without, you know, the naked stuff happening.”

“Yeah but we’re friends. You two are something else entirely.” Angel shrugged. “I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s like he’s courting you or something.” It was my turn to laugh, the thought of Alastor courting me was too much.

“Oh please. Me? As if,” I shook my head, trying not to think about what happened the night before. Just the thought was enough to make me squirm. “He’s, like, prim. And proper. And I’m just...me.”

“What was your life like that you don’t think you’re good enough?” Angel asked sadly.

“A lot. That’s what it is was.” I sat up and brushed my hair out of my face. “So what’s on the list so far that we haven’t gotten rid of yet?” Angel eyed me for a second before turning to the piece of paper in his hand.

“We’ve got...a simple silver and blue look, Fire and Ice, Starry Night, Enchanted Forest or a Masquerade.” Angel ticked off each choice and I thought over them carefully.

“Did I hear Masquerade?” Charlie practically sang as she came over. “Oh, that sounds so cool! But so does an Enchanted Forest...so many choices!”

“Is this suddenly prom?” Vaggie asked. “Just pick some colours and be done with it.”

“Well that’s no fun,” I pouted. “Besides, I never went to prom so I’m taking over Charlie’s idea and forming it into something I want.”

“And I am okay with that!” Charlie laughed. “So long as it helps the hotel in the long run!”

“What say you, Husk?” I leaned back so I could look at the cat demon who was currently pulling round tables out of storage and putting them together.

“I don’t fucking care.” Husk huffed as he put the final screw into one of the tables and uprighted it.

“Well I vote Masquerade!” Charlie nodded. “Vaggie?”

“I guess that would be fun,” Vaggie hummed. “But aren’t we supposed to know who is here?”

“They can put the masks on after they come in here,” I offered. “That way we can know for sure.”

“Splendid!” Alastor exclaimed, walking towards us. “A Masquerade! Filled with mystery and delight! Of wonder and terror!”

“Riiight...” Charlie laughed nervously. “I’d rather not have terror mixed in with all of this. Where have you been anyways? You scared Husk into helping and then you took off.”

“Had to pick up some dry cleaning,” Alastor waved her off. “It’s of no importance.” He stopped in front of me, his hands behind his back, and smiled down at me. Angel discreetly nudged me and I elbowed him back, getting a yelp out of him.

“Why are you so bony?!” He cried out, rubbing his side. “Fucking eat more, get some meat on you.” I snickered and shook my head.

“So I guess we have to get masks now,” Vaggie said. “Should we just order in a bunch and have people pick them up at the door?”

“That might be the best option,” Nifty nodded. “But people should still be able to bring their own!”

“Agreed.” Charlie hummed. “Oh! So, most of the royals got back to me. Mom and dad are definitely coming as well as a few others. Most of them laughed at the idea of mingling with the lower demons who might come...” Vaggie sneered at that and Charlie put a hand on her shoulder. “But! I also got some posters made really quick and I have someone putting them up around the city! So hopefully we’ll be able to get some demons.”

While the others talked about the final details of the party, I quietly got up and left the room. I had to think of what kind of dress to get, the one Angel had bought for me was no where near classy enough for an event like this. No, I had to get something elegant. If the King of Hell was coming, I had to look my best. And then there was what Angel said, about Alastor courting me. I just could not fathom that; why would a freaking overlord of Hell want anything to do with me to begin with? Sure, he had said no one had ever willingly considered them his friend before, which said a lot about his character, but above that I was barely a blip on his radar. At least, I shouldn’t have been anything more to him. There was nothing about me he could ever want.

I sighed and headed outside, wanting some fresh air to cool me down a bit. I didn’t even think about telling anyone where I was going, my mind was such a whirlwind. Did I even want Alastor to feel that way towards me? Did _I_ feel that way? I had so many questions and not enough answers.

I started walking in a random direction, not really paying attention to where I was going. It wasn’t until the surroundings started becoming familiar that I slowed my pace and actually looked around. I was near my old apartment. Furrowing my eyebrows, I continued in that direction until I stood in front of the building. It looked the same; red bricked and five storeys high. I had given my key back to the landlord so I wasn’t able to go inside anymore but it felt nice just looking at it. Despite how much I loved staying at the hotel, I did miss being on my own at times.

“Well, well, well,” a voice purred behind me. “I thought my eyes were lying to me but here you are my dear, _sweet Amelia”_ Gasping, I turned around and found Jules standing behind me. His eyes were narrowed and regarded me carefully.

“Jules.” I whispered, my eyes darting around frantically.

“Oh, don’t try to look for help,” Jules said. “Nobody is here. It’s just us, my love.” I felt sick as he said that, my stomach doing flips. Him calling me that made me feel dirty and disgusting and I needed to get away quickly.

“What do you want?” I ground out, baring my teeth at him.

“I missed you,” he replied. “We were having so much fun that night and then you just up and disappeared on me. Word on the street was that you were staying at the fucking hotel. I would have gone and gotten you myself but I didn’t want to risk the wrath of Alastor or the Princess. Despite my higher standing, I had a feeling those two wouldn’t care if they ripped me to shreds.”

“I would have helped them,” my voice was a growl and I could feel my horns growing slightly. Fear was the only thing coursing through me but I couldn’t let him know that.

“Oh my, aren’t we feisty today. The sight of you like this, ready to rip my throat out, is positively _erotic_.” I actually gagged at that, trying to hold down the bile that was threatening to come out. “Don’t be so dramatic, Amelia. It’s very unladylike.”

“Forgive me for not caring what is and isn’t lady like.” I spat.

“I almost forgot what a spitfire you can be!” Jules was gleeful when he said it. “That’s why you were always my favourite! But I’m afraid this union of ours is about to be cut short so I’ll leave you with a little something to remember me by.” He took a step towards me and I hastily stepped back, not wanting him any closer than he already was. Unfortunately, he was still too close and he was able to grab my arm before I could run. “You are _mine_ Amelia. You best not forget that.” With his other hand still free, Jules brought a claw up to my neck and cut me from my collarbone down to just above my breast. I cried out at the pain, knowing that he was trying to leave yet another scar to remember him by. “Nobody else will care for you, not when you’re damaged goods. Playing house with that deer will only get you so far. He’s too power hungry to really give a shit about anything, let alone a lowly, disgusting demon like you. Unlike me. You know I would love you and cherish you forever. Just say yes.”

“Amelia!” I heard Charlie call. She sounded close but not close enough.

“ _Never_.” I spit in Jules’ face which made him snarl and raise his hand like he was going to hit me. Just as he started to bring it down, a microphone stopped him and I nearly sobbed in relief.

“I’d like it very much if you’d let her go.” Alastor spoke low and dangerously, the static around him a high frequency. I knew he was pissed and that kind of scared me. I had never actually seen Alastor mad but if the stories were true, he could cause a lot of damage.

“Ah! Alastor, my old friend,” Jules greeted warmly. “How nice of you to join the party.” As he spoke, his grip tightened on me and I winced at the feeling of his claws digging into my skin. That seemed to anger Alastor more as his pupils turned into radio dials and strange symbols I had never seen before began floating around us. Jules eyed him for a moment before shrugging and letting me go. As soon as he did, Alastor grabbed me and brought me to his side, shielding me from the other demon.

“Now leave.” I didn’t like the way Alastor’s voice glitched when he said that. Apparently Jules didn’t either because he sneered at Alastor.

“Well Amelia, our time together always seems so short. I do hope we can have another chat soon. Ta.” Jules turned and started walking away, just as the others reached us.

“Amelia! Oh my god what did he do?!” Charlie grabbed the edge of my shirt and pulled it away gently, examining the cut. “We have to get this cleaned. I think it may leave a scar...” Vaggie, her spear in hand, looked about ready to chase after Jules.

“We better head back,” Vaggie looked over her shoulder at us. “What were you thinking? This is the second time, Amy! You’re lucky we found you in time! Who knows what he was going to do?”

“I’m sorry...” I whispered, tears welling up.

“No. It’s fine,” Charlie waved Vaggie off. “Vaggie, she’s been through a lot.”

“That doesn’t mean we should coddle her! She’s not a child! She should have let someone know!” The anger in Vaggie’s voice was like a slap in the face.

“That is enough Vaggie,” Alastor said, his voice back to normal. “Let us leave this area. We’ve probably drawn enough attention.” Putting his arm around my waist, Alastor began leading us back to the hotel.

“How did you guys find me?” I asked when we were about halfway.

“My shadow,” Alastor replied. “I attached it to you when I saw you leave. Just to make sure something like this didn’t happen.” He sounded...disappointed and I winced. He was probably disappointed in me. When we got to the hotel, Charlie brought me into the kitchen and told me to take my shirt off so she could get a better look at the wound. I winced as the moment pulled at the cut and when Charlie began to clean it.

“It’s deep but not too deep,” she commented. “You will need stitches. I’ve already asked Vaggie to send for a doctor. Oh Amelia. You need to start thinking before you do things like this. He could have done a lot worse.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t even want to go that far. I just needed some air.”

“Yes, well. After what Angel said I could see why.” Charlie sighed. I looked up at her and she gave me a sad smile. “He told me what you two talked about, in the music room. He thinks this is all his fault now. As soon as we found out you were in danger, her freaked and ran up to his room.” Guilt welled up inside me, making it hard to breathe. I didn’t want Angel to think he was at fault here, I couldn’t stand the thought of it.

“Do you really think he’s courting me?” I asked quietly, eyeing the door.

“I don’t know what else to call it,” Charlie replied. “Alastor is an overlord who has taken down demons who have ruled for centuries, my parents not included. He’s never acted this way around someone else, as far as we know it. You’re special, Amelia. You bring something out in him.” Just then, the door opened and the doctor Vaggie had gone to get came in. If I remembered correctly, he came to check on me when I first came to the hotel; Dr. Quincy. He was a ram demon, complete with curled horns and hooves for feet. He wasn’t the nicest of demons but he did his job alright.

Dr. Quincy made quick work of the cut, giving me something to help ease the pain, and placed a big bandage over the stitches. He muttered something about some demons just asking for trouble before giving a bill to Charlie and leaving. With all that said and done, I put my shirt back on and decided to go to my room. Sleep was probably the best thing for me right now, even if my mind was going off like crazy and pain was starting to radiate from the wound. I let Charlie know where I was going and headed up, opting for the stairs instead of the lift.

When I got to my room, I kicked my jeans off and crawled under the covers, pulling them up to my chin so every part of me was hidden. Despite my racing mind, however, I dozed off. Not completely, I was still conscious enough, but it was like I was in a trance. My eyes were closed and my breathing was even. I was so spaced out that I didn’t hear my door open or close but I did feel the dip in the bed as new weight was added. I felt the covers lift slightly and someone slid in behind me. Arms wound around my frame and pulled me close. I tensed up, thinking Jules had followed me here.

“Shh.” Alastor whispered. “It’s me.” I relaxed as I felt his clawed hand rest on my hip.

“What’s up?” I whispered back, my eyes still closed. Alastor nuzzled his face into my hair.

“You’ve been through a lot today,” he replied, his voice muffled. “I thought maybe I should keep you company in case of any nightmares. Plus, Angel made mention that what he said earlier may have upset you and that’s why you left the hotel.”

“I wouldn’t say it upset me,” I tried to sound sure of myself but knew I failed. “More like...confused me. I just needed a moment to myself.” And that moment ended up turning terrifying in return.

“What did he say?” Alastor moved so he was peering down at me.

“I don’t think you want to know...”

“Amelia.” He had a warning tone in his voice and I knew if I didn’t say anything, he’d ask Angel which would just make everything worse. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself for what was about to happen.

“He...said...that...” keep it together Amelia. “Hesaidthatyouwerecourtingme.” It came out in a big rush and I wasn’t too sure Alastor understood me properly, especially because he was quiet for a few moments. I felt my face heat up and I dared not look at Alastor. I did not want to see what was in his eyes.

“Would that be so bad?” He finally asked. I froze; every inch of me stopped moving. I stopped breathing, I stopped thinking. Amelia.exe stopped working entirely. Did he just say what I thought he just said? I felt one of his claws move some hair away from my face before tracing down my jawline. I then realized he was actually waiting for me to answer. I must have looked like an idiot.

“No?” I replied.

“Is that a question or a statement?” Alastor chuckled.

“Both?” I felt myself being rolled over so we were face to face; my eyes wide and unblinking while his were half lidded and a small smirk was playing over his lips. The jackass was enjoying this.

“You know how hard it is for me to show weakness around others,” Alastor began. “How I choose who can and can not be in my circle of... _friends._ I don’t let others touch me and I never let anyone see me without a smile. And I have been that way for a very long time, long before I came down here. And then you show up with this attitude of yours. You weren’t afraid of me, you didn’t even care about who I was, and I began thinking to myself how wonderfully entertaining you were to be around. That night at the piano, I realized just how alike we truly are. _You smile when others are around because you don’t want to show weakness._ And yet you stopped smiling around me, showing me that you somehow trusted me enough to show that weakness even if you barely knew me. Me, over Angel or Charlie or any of the others! There was no way I was going to squander such a gift; even if it meant letting you break down some walls, I wanted to very much be entangled in your life. And then you had to go and say we were friends! Well, that just proved to me how right I was about you.” As he spoke, his hand came up to cup my cheek and his thumb brushed over my skin. I could feel tears welling up; nobody had ever spoken about me like this before. I was always so broken that nobody had wanted to.

“Alastor..” I whispered his name but he wasn’t finished talking yet.

“And even after all of that, you kept surprising me. Last night...when I heard you scream I was ready to fly into that room and call down the fires of Hell to protect you. I have never, _ever_ felt the need to do that with anyone. In Hell, you must fight for yourself and prove to everyone else that you are not to be trifled with. But I would go to the ends of time to make sure you were alright. And then today...I should have known better than to just let you go by yourself. I figured my shadow would be enough but apparently it wasn’t. It was rather stupid of me.” He breathed out heavily, like he had been going on one breath that entire time. So the disappointment wasn’t about it, he had been disappointed in himself for failing to protect me.

The tears that I had been holding in finally decided to show themselves; they made hot trails down my cheeks as the weight of his words sunk into my mind. Leaning down, Alastor brushed his lips ever so lightly over mine before firmly placing them over my own. It felt like fireworks were going off inside of me, like every fibre of my being was lighting up as he kissed me. My eyes fluttered closed and I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

He was the one to break the kiss, although he seemed reluctant to do so. I blinked up at him, twirling the strands of hair at the base of his neck around my fingers. His smile was gentle, loving, one I hadn’t seen on him before. It made me feel safe, protected and, for the first time in a very long time, loved.


	6. Dance With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the party is here! But before the festivities can begin, Amelia and Alastor have a talk

It was weird; time seemed to move slowly yet there never seemed to be enough of it in one day. We were so busy planning for the event that it was hard to find moments alone with Alastor. Opting to not risk having me go out again, Charlie ordered a bunch of dresses for the four girls to try on and a few for Angel in case he was feeling spontaneous. He did end up joining us but apparently he already had his outfit picked out, he just wanted us to do a fashion show with all the dresses. At least, he wanted to after I had talked to him about what he had said; I had to tell him five different times that he had nothing to do with Jules hurting me. I still felt like Angel blamed himself but at least he wasn’t moping around anymore.

After all the dresses had been moved up to Charlie and Vaggie’s suite, Charlie ending up going first, choosing from soft pink cocktail dresses to more brightly coloured ballroom gowns. She looked amazing in all of them, it was hard to pick a favourite. Vaggie especially seemed to be enamoured with every choice, complimenting Charlie with each new dress. She eventually settled on a navy blue ballgown, the shoulders puffed up slightly and each sleeve ending wrapped around her middle fingers. Charlie looked every bit the princess she was in that dress and I felt kind of envious.

Vaggie made quick work of her selections; She wasn’t overly fond of the bright colours Charlie had picked out for her so she decided on a Gothic style dress, similar in looks to Charlie’s dress. However, instead of having puffy shoulders, the sleeves were more form fitting until it got to the cuffs; they were fanned out. She looked radiant in the dress, the black and dark blue complimenting her looks so perfectly.

Nifty, having a knack at picking up every single detail, spent a very long time choosing her dress before she even considered putting it on. In the end, she picked something very similar to what she wore on a daily basis, just darker colours.

Finally, it was my turn. There had been one dress that caught my eye the minute I saw it and I just knew I had to try it on. When I did, it felt like this dress had been made just for me which, knowing Charlie, it probably was. Stepping out into the living room of her suite, I twirled in front of the others. Angel started whistling at me while the others ooh’d and aww’d. It was blood red, made of silk, and was long enough to dragged on the floor behind me a little bit. There was a slit on one side, making so my leg showed every time I walked. The neckline was sweetheart shaped and the dress was held up with spaghetti straps; it was absolutely perfect.

“Can’t wait until Smiles sees you,” Angel grinned. “He’s gonna lose that smile for sure!” I grinned, knowing full well Alastor would likely never do that, especially in front of a group of royalty.

“Oh, tomorrow is going to be perfect!” Charlie sighed as she danced around in her dress, the fabric swishing as she did so. “Mom and dad will finally see I know what I’m doing! Some of my cousins promised to come, even if it’s only because it’s a finer party. Do you think we’ll get any patrons?”

“Who knows,” Vaggie smiled, watching her girlfriend. “Hopefully.”

“Well, I know for certain we’ll be the talk of the town,” Angel puffed out his chest proudly. “With you girls looking as fine as that, and me being, well, me? You can bet your ass we’ll have some patrons.”

“Just don’t fuck them,” I laughed. “That’s not the point of them coming here.”

“Don’t you worry your little head, toots,” Angel grinned. “I’m fuckin’ em before they sign up. It’ll entice em to stay.” Charlie buried her head in her hands and started laughing, the others joining. Nifty went to look at herself in the mirror, her smile growing.

“There’s going to be a lot of cleaning to do after this!” She sighed happily, causing the rest of us to go into another bought of laughter.

Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, there was a knock at the door. Opening it, I didn’t find anyone there and I went to close the door again when something on the floor caught my attention. Raising an eyebrow, I picked up a folded piece of paper and opened it, unsure of what to expect.

_Amelia,_

_I would very much like for you to join me tonight. I have a cup of tea waiting for you by the fire._

_Alastor_

Smiling, I grabbed my robe and threw it on before heading to the lift and going up to the top floor. When I got up there, the door to Alastor’s room was already open so I slipped in and closed it behind me. Soft jazz music was playing as I headed into the living room; Alastor was sitting on the couch by the fireplace, a book in his hand. He looked very relaxed; his suit jacket was off and he had rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up. I also noticed he had undone a few buttons by his neck as well. He glanced up when he heard me approaching, his smile softening.

“Hi,” I greeted quietly as I stood before him. He put his book down and grabbed my hand, guiding me to the spot beside him.

“Hello.” His voice was just as soft, the static around him a gentle buzz. “I’m glad you could join me.”

“Like I would say no,” I giggled. “I was promised some tea.” Alastor grinned and snapped his fingers, a cup of tea appearing on the coffee table along with some cookies. Gingerbread, by the looks of it; my absolute favourite. Resting my head on his shoulder, I curled up on the couch as he put his arm around me. He placed a quick kiss to the top of my head, inhaling as he did so.

“How’s your wound?” He asked when he pulled away.

“Stings a little every now and then but it’s not too bad,” I replied, my hand going to the bandage. “I picked out a really nice dress for tomorrow.” I changed the subject, not wanting dwell on Jules and what he was capable of.

“So I heard,” Alastor chuckled. “Charlie really outdid herself with the selections. Do I get to know what it looks like or must I wait?”

“You’ll have to wait,” I grinned, peeking up at him through my lashes.

“However will we match then?” He sighed, bringing his hand up to his face in mock concern. “We may very well end up wearing completely different colours! That won’t do at all.”

“Like you wear anything other than red,” I laughed.

“So it’s red then,” He grinned. “Such a wonderful colour! Especially on you.” I blushed at his comment and tried to hide my face but he grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. His claw brushed over my bottom lip and a look akin to hunger took over his eyes. He leaned down and connected our lips, a sigh escaping me as he did so. His lips were so soft and warm and the weight of his arm around me was so comforting.

Alastor suddenly shifted, moving me so I was straddling his waist, and deepened the kiss. Electricity shot through me as his hands roamed my back, my hips, my thighs...I gasped as he gently dragged his claws down my exposed flesh. I wove my hands through his hair, definitely messing it up which I knew he would hate later but in this moment he didn’t seem to mind. Out of curiosity, my fingers danced over one of his ears and Alastor responded by grunting and jerking his head back.

“Sensitive, I take it?” I giggled.

“Very.” He nipped at my bottom lip before having his lips ghost over my jaw and down my neck, making me shudder. “Darling, I need to know something.”

“Hmm?” I pulled away so I could look down at him. His eyes were very intense in that moment.

“Is this enough?” He asked softly, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. “If this was all I could offer you, would it be enough?”

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brows, my hands resting on his chest.

“I don’t...feel the way one normally would in such situations,” Alastor said, thinking over his words carefully. “I am not incapable of it but it isn’t very often.”

“Are we...talking about what I think we’re talking about right now?” I asked, tilting my head. Alastor's gaze had turned serious and I sighed. “Look, Al. If _this_ is all you want,” I motioned between us. “That’s fine. I’m not one to force anything on anyone. And we literally established what _this_ is a few days ago. I’m in no rush to do anything.”

“So I was worried for nothing,” he concluded.

“So you were worried for nothing.” I nodded and tapped his nose with my finger. “And now you’ve made my tea go cold.” I pouted and got off of him, grabbing the cup. There was still a little warmth left but not much. Alastor leaned over and touched the rim of the cup and suddenly it was hot. Really hot. I yelped and set it down quickly, shaking my hand. “Warn a girl!” Alastor grinned and pinched my cheek.

We spent the rest of the evening talking and cuddling on the couch. The cookies didn’t last very long, I never could restrain myself when it came to gingerbread. Around midnight, Alastor carried me to bed since I was only half awake at that point. He gathered me to him under the covers and I put my head on his chest, sighing happily as sleep took me.

\- - -

The next day was a whirlwind. Charlie and Vaggie were setting up last minute decorations while Husk readied the bar and Nifty made sure everything was perfect. Around noon, a few stylists came in to do our makeup and hair. I would have preferred not having mine done to the extreme but my wishes went unheard as what felt like millions of pins were stuck in my thick hair. My hair was piled up into a messy bun on top of my head, wisps of hair falling around me. I thought that would be the end of it but then they put in small red and black butterfly clips to go around the bun.

Next was my makeup but they didn’t doll me up like Cherri had done; instead, they did a very simple and natural look and just put on a lovely shade of red lipstick. They seemed happy with that as they nodded to one another before they helped me into my dress. Looking at myself in the mirror, I didn’t recognize myself at all. I was beautiful and confident, something I’d never seen myself as before. My heart skipped a beat at what Alastor might think and a small smile tugged at my lips. The stylists cooed around me before they had to rush off to help someone else.

I was only alone for a few moments before Charlie walked in, her gown swishing around her elegantly.

“Oh, look at you!” She cried out. “You’re so beautiful.”

“So are you,” I grinned. She smiled back and came to stand beside me. Her stylists had matched her makeup to her dress wonderfully, dark blue and gold eye shadow surrounding her eyes.

“I caught a glimpse of Angel before he slammed the door shut,” Charlie giggled. “He’s a mess right now. They keep trying to fix his hair but he won’t let them.” I laughed along with her, the thought of Angel throwing a fit over his hair was too much. “Oh! Here, I brought you something.” From behind her back, Charlie produced two boxes, one smaller than the other. She set them on the dresser and opened the first box, revealing a rose made from rubies sitting on a black chain.

“Charlie!” I breathed out. “That must have cost a fortune!”

“But it looked so lovely and I thought of you when I saw it!” Charlie moved behind me and easily clasped the necklace around my neck. It sat in the space just above my breasts and I knew it was going to draw many eyes. “I knew it. It’s perfect.”

“It’s too much!” I squawked. Charlie waved me off and went to open the bigger box, pulling the most delicate and intricate looking mask I had ever seen. It was red with black swirling around it and small red gems set around the edges. The ties were black silk and Charlie was able to tie it so it didn’t muss with my hair in anyway.

“There. You’re ready!” She squealed. Just in time too for as she said that, the bell downstairs rang. “Oh! The first guests! You come down when you’re ready. Vaggie, Alastor and I have to be at the doors to greet everyone!” With that, she was gone. I smiled after her, amazed that she would go to such lengths for me. Shaking my head, I slipped on the shoes I had gotten for the club, thankful that they seemed to go for any occasion. There was a knock at the door and I turned to see Angel all done up and looking quite handsome; he was in a plain black tux but his hair seemed more poofy than before and he had outlined his eyes in liner again. He had his mask in his hand; it was a Phantom of the Opera mask.

“My lady!” He bowed. “Ready to greet the public?” I laughed as he held out an arm and accepted it. As we headed down the hallway, we could hear chatter already drifting up through the floorboards. It sounded like a lot of people were already down there. I tightened my grip on Angel who, in turn, patted my hand. “You’ll be fine, toots. Just keep yer head up and don’t trip.” We reached the staircase and he secured the mask onto his face before we descended.

My breath was taken away; there were fairy lights set up all around the lobby and gold and black streamers hanging from the ceiling. The pillars had lights and streamers curling around them too. And the demons! Everyone was dressed to the nines! So many colours and styles! It was amazing. As Angel and I neared the last few steps, it seemed like everyone had stopped and turned to stare. All of them had masks on so I didn’t recognize anyone. Not that it mattered, I had never met the other royals before. I did, however, see Charlie’s parents waiting for us at the bottom, Charlie’s dad hard to miss with his signature apple cane. It amazed me how similar Charlie looked to her dad; they had the same white skin and rosy cheeks. The only difference I could see was Lucifer’s razor sharp smile, much like Alastor’s.

“You must be Amelia!” Lucifer bowed slightly in greeting. “Charlie has said so much about you! Why, I feel like I know you already!” He laughed loudly, his wife joining in. “Tell me, dear, what made you decide to waste you time with something such as this?” He waved his hand around, indicating the hotel.

“Charlie’s cause is noble,” I defended my friend. “Sir.” I had to remember I was speaking to the King of Hell himself. His reputation was horrifyingly amazing and I didn’t want to be the one his anger was directed at.

“Noble,” he sneered. “If you say so.”

“Luci, honey, don’t be like that,” Lilith scolded lightly. “We’re here to support our daughter after all!”

“Hmpf.” Was all he said in reply. Angel, having had enough of the two hotshots, started pulling me away.

“Come on, kid,” he said. “We gotta get some food before the gluttons eat it all.” Dragging me over to the food table, I noticed it was piled quite high with many food; finger sandwiches, cuts of cheese and meat, small desserts and much more. Angel began making up two plates for us, hmming and hawing over what to eat. It was then that I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“My, my,” Alastor’s voice washed over me. “You look more radiant than I imagined.” I turned around and met his gaze, a smile forming on my lips. He was indeed wearing red, like I knew he would, but instead of his usual suit jacket, it wore a more elegant looking one. His hair was just the same, not a stray in sight but what really caught my attention was his mask; it was black with a white outline of deer skulls on either side.

“And you look just as amazing,” I replied, grinning. He looked like he wanted to kiss me but with so many people around, he didn’t dare risk it. That would be all he needed; the city talking about how he was going soft.

“I see you met Lucifer and Lilith,” Alastor commented.

“Yeah and boy are they a bunch of fun,” Angel replied, offering me a plate. Thankfully, he didn’t pile it as much as he did his own. “Well, toots, since your date it here, I’m off to find one for myself. Later.” With that, Angel melted into the crowed. I shook my head and laughed slightly, nibbling on a sandwich. I noticed a few demons were eyeing Alastor and I, whispering behind their hands.

“Oh that can only mean fun.” I sighed.

“What’s that, dearest?” Alastor asked as he scanned the room.

“Everyone is _staring.”_

“Why shouldn’t they be? You are quite beautiful.” He smiled down at me but shot a quick glare at the demons who had been talking about us. They froze up and quickly turned away. “They’re mostly staring at me, I assure you. The royals have been dying to know what could have gotten me to agree to help Charlie.” He grabbed my plate and set it on the table, linking his arm with mine. “Come. We should mingle.” He led me from one group to another, introducing everyone rapid fire. I couldn’t remember anyone’s name but I supposed it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t be seeing them again for a while, if at all, after this night. One thing was certain though, they all acted as their status demanded. All of them looked down their noses at me, which was kind of hard since I was about the same height as everyone. They were still intimidating though. And boy did they have questions!

Everyone wanted to know what exactly Charlie was doing; if it actually worked, if she had a proper head on her shoulders, who was funding this entire project and, lastly and my most favourite one, if Alastor was _sleeping_ with her. That one had me fuming, much to Alastor’s delight.

“Jealously looks lovely on you,” he whispered in my ear as one of the royals went on about how she thought Alastor was some kind of prude but everyone was saying he was shacking up with the Princess. “I assure you, Matilda, I am not ‘shacking up’ with Charlie, as you so put it. We are merely business partners! This whole endeavour is for my entertainment alone.”

“Then who,” another royal, Cassidy, pointed to me. “is she? And what is she doing clinging to you?”

“Looks nothing more than a lowly demon to me,” someone else huffed.

“I’m one of the patrons of this hotel!” I said, standing up straighter. “This may all seem like a joke to _you_ but Charlie is a very hard worker and believes in the greater good. Something none of you would ever know anything about.”

“So you actually believe we can be redeemed?” Matilda sneered.

“Well, not you three,” I eyed all of them. “But everyone else, I’m sure.” With that, I turned on my heel and stalked off, Alastor’s laughter following me through the crowds. I made my way over to Charlie and Vaggie who were in the middle of what seemed to be convincing someone to stay.

“-and you’ll have friends!” Charlie concluded. “People to support you. Oh! Here comes Amelia now.” She turned the other demon around and I froze in place. It was Sasha, from the diner. I would be able to tell her apart from anyone. Her striking blue eyes were hard to miss, not to mention her tail was always well groomed.

“Amelia,” she greeted. “Your friends here were just telling me about their cause. It’s rather nice, isn’t it?”

“Sasha. What are you doing here?” I was instantly put on alert, my eyes going from mask to mask, trying to see if any of them were Jules.

“He’s not here, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Sasha sighed. “I’m here for the party and the chance to see for myself if redemption is possible.”

“We’re planning on having her tour the hotel on Friday!” Charlie grinned. “Oh, isn’t this exciting? We’re already getting interest!” Vaggie smiled along with Charlie but she noticed my unease right away. Coming over to me, Vaggie put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently.

“She promised she knew nothing about what happened,” Vaggie whispered. “I don’t like it either but I doubt Jules broadcasted it.” I nodded, giving her a tight smile. So long as he wasn’t here, everything would be fine. The four of us chatted for a bit, Charlie gushing at the turn out of the party, before Vaggie reminded her it was time for her speech. Clapping her hands, Charlie’s helpers Razzle and Dazzle suddenly appearing beside her.

“Go get the stage set up, please.” She ruffled their hair and they ran to do their job, getting the microphone ready for their mistress. When that was all set up, Charlie made her way on stage, grabbing the microphone and tapping on it a few times to get everyone’s attention. Everyone turned to the stage and I could see Charlie visibly shrink under their gaze before she took a deep breath. “Hello and welcome to tonight’s event! I want to thank everyone who came and those who are considering joining us here at the Hazbin Hotel. Now, as I understand it, a lot of you have questions and I hope I can answer them tonight.

Hazbin Hotel, formerly Happy Hotel, was started so that we can help demons go to Heaven and no longer worry about the Extermination every year. Seeing my people hide for fear of being slaughtered is devastating and I want nothing more than to put an end to it! Now I know some of you find this idea ridiculous but I think that’s because you don’t understand what it is we’re doing here. And that’s okay! I just hope that one day, when you see for yourselves that this can and will work, you will come to understand. And maybe redeem yourselves. Who knows? But for tonight, I will answer all your questions and more. We are also accepting donations of any kind, should you want to....Er...Thank you.” With that, she stepped away from the mic and off the stage, the demons in the room hesitantly clapping. As Charlie made her way over to us, I felt a presence behind me; looking up, I found Alastor grinning down at me as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

“Well done, Charlie,” Alastor complimented when Charlie got closer to us.

“Yes, I think some of the guests really enjoyed that,” Vaggie nodded. “I think we may have more people staying here!”

“Oh good!” It wasn’t Charlie that spoke, but Lucifer as he slithered through the crowd to get to us. “I had thought the speech was rather dull but! If others enjoyed it then it must have been good.” Charlie deflated at her father’s words and I could feel anger radiating off of Vaggie. “Alastor! It’s been too long.”

“Has it?” Alastor tilted his head to one side, thinking. “I had rather hoped it’d be longer.” Lucifer’s grin became menacing as he laughed.

“Oh Alastor, your wit is never ending,” Lucifer thumped his cane on the floor. “And I see you have a rather fine jewel on your arm this evening. Quite the catch. Bit lower than your usual standards, no?” Ouch. That was a low blow.

“Usual standards?” I asked, glancing up at Alastor.

“Why! Didn’t you know? He’s a power hungry fool!” Lucifer laughed. “He rarely takes a lover and when he does, it’s for the purpose of going up in the world. You, on the other hand, offer nothing to him. So why would he even consider a thing like you?”

“Dad!” Charlie gasped, shock and horror growing on her features. “Such a thing to say!” I, myself, was speechless. How did you follow up with something like that?

“But it’s the truth!” Lucifer defended. “Isn’t it, Alastor? Your circle of friends, those you let close, are nothing more than pawns in your game. She isn’t any different.” He pointed to me with the end of his cane.

“Dad, stop it!” Charlie demanded. “You’re making a scene. Please, just...go find mom. This was supposed to welcome demons, not scare them off!” Lucifer looked at his daughter, disdain clear on his face, but shrugged.

“Very well,” he said. “Ruin my fun.” Turning to me, he grabbed my hand and brought it up to his face. “It was lovely to meet you, Amelia. Amy. _Red._ Until next time.” He let me go and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.

“Amelia,” Charlie turned to me. “I’m so sorry. He’s always like that, upsetting people just to see their reaction.”

“It’s fine,” I replied but my voice cracked. “I think I’m done with tonight though.”

“I understand,” Charlie nodded sadly.

“I’ll walk you to your room!” Alastor offered but I moved away from him.

“No, you can stay here. I know how to get there on my own.” My voice was cold and I didn’t mean to sound so angry but I just couldn’t be around anyone anymore. That is, until Angel Dust came up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Come on, kid.” He pulled me from the room and up the stairs, not saying anything until we reached my room. “I caught the tail end of what Daddy-O said. Piece of shit.”

“It’s fine,” I sighed. “I just want out of this dress.”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think Smiles is using ya,” Angel said, turning around to give me some privacy. “I mean, I know when a man is tryin’ use a girl. Spend enough time around Val and you’re sure to know just by a passing glance. Alastor might have done so with other dames in the past but not with you.” As Angel talked, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. I mulled over his words but my head was a mess at the moment. I went into the bathroom and wiped my makeup off.

“Thanks Angel,” I sighed. I crawled into bed and curled up on my side. After a moment, Angel plopped down beside me.

“Why are you so quick to believe that cunt anyways?” Angel asked. “You’ve seen how Alastor looks at you.” I was quiet for a moment, wondering if I should tell the truth; I had only ever told one other demon about my life on Earth and he turned into a monster. Trust wasn’t easy for me but...Angel always proved I could trust him, time and again.

“When I was alive,” I began, my voice small. “There was a man who I loved very much. He was so sweet and caring, always concerned about my well being. He promised to always love me and I agreed to move in with him. And then...he changed. He would get angry all the time at me and it got to the point where he would hit me. He always said it was my fault that he did that, that he didn’t want to hurt me, that he loved me but I was so stupid and I never thought about what the consequences to my actions would be.” Angel grabbed my hand and squeezed. “But he also made it so I could love nobody else. He made me turn all my friends away, even my family. He convinced me that he was the only one I needed, the only one who could love me. He told me that I was broken, a useless thing that deserved the worst but he could see the good in me.”

“Red...”

“So I believe it when someone says that I’m nothing but a pawn in some twisted game,” I spat, tears streaming down my face. “I believed Jules when he told me that he was all I had, that Hell would just chew me up and spit me back out if it hadn’t been for him. Alastor has been so nice but Lucifer was right; what could he want with me? I’m nothing! I’ve always been nothing and I always will be nothing and I can’t-” The rest of my words were muffled as Angel squished me to him, wrapping all six of his arms around my shaking body. He held me for a long time as I cried, years of pent up anger and hatred coming out.

“If I had a way, I’d go up there and kill that slimy bastard,” Angel hissed.

“You can’t,” I sniffled. “Someone cut his brake lines one night. He went out for a drive, went a little too fast and...They told me he died on impact.”

“Jesus kid,” Angel chuckled. “It wasn’t you, was it?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Apparently he had pissed someone off. He owed them money and refused to pay it back. I thought he would have ended up here but I’ve never seen him.”

“Well, there are other circles of Hell,” Angel shrugged. “He could be anywhere. Why don’t you get some sleep. I’ll head back downstairs and do damage control. Want me to send Alastor up?”

“No. I don’t think I’m ready to face him yet.” I sighed again. Angel nodded and got up, patting my head before heading out the door. I buried my face into my pillow and took a deep breath. The face of my ex plagued my mind and threatened to push me over the edge. He had taken such joy in hurting me and yet I was so blinded by what I thought was love. How foolish I was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say I am extremely upset that the text change for Alastor's note didn't cross over onto here? I have a very elegant looking handwriting font that I adore and I wanted to use it :/ Just imagine he has very neat hand writing. I just slanted it for the sake of it being a letter instead. Le sigh. Oh! Also! About that ~talk~. I don't know juuuuuust yet if I'm going to have to add some tags about, ya know, adult things *eyebrow waggle* BUT I did do a lot of research on what it means to be Asexual because I don't want to say the wrong things and upset someone because nothing is worse than acting like you know about something without doing the proper research. So, from this point on, if I write something that doesn't stay true to someone who is asexual, please for the love of god let me know so I can fix it. I don't don't don't want to cause any upset for anyone reading this. *takes deep breath* Okay I'm done. Cheers!


	7. All My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia and Alastor have another talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I changed the tags. More in the notes below

My sleep was uneasy, filled with pain and a haunting voice laughing at me. It was a mix of Jules and my ex, their faces turning into one; a giant monster coming after me.

“Amelia,” they hissed, taunting me. Hands grabbed me and started shaking me around, like I was some sort of rag doll. “Amelia!” My eyes flew open and I jumped, hitting my head rather hard on something.

“Ow!” I moaned, rubbing my forehead. I looked up and saw Alastor leaning over me, also holding his head.

“Ow indeed,” he grinned. “Another nightmare?”

“Mm.” I sat up more carefully and moved away slightly, trying to be discrete. He noticed, of course, his eyes narrowing.

“You’re avoiding me.” Alastor poked my arm with one of his claws.

“No I’m not!” I replied, a bit more defensively than I would have liked. Alastor leaned closer, his nose brushing mine, and I looked away, choosing to stare at the wall. He sighed and moved away, turning to face the window. “I’m sorry.”

“Angel told me what you said,” Alastor began. “About when you were alive. Not all of it but enough that I understood.”

“I’m gonna kill him.” I nodded to myself.

“What upsets me is that you went to _him_ instead of _me_ ,” Alastor said, his voice loosing the radio filter for a moment. “You turn me away only have Angel help you.” The static began building around us as Alastor gripped the bed sheets, his claws cutting into the material. Alastor’s antlers started to grow with his anger and, although I could only partially see his face, I saw his smile twist into a more crazed one.

“Alastor...I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I had wanted to be alone but Angel, he just...Look, it’s not that I don’t trust you but when someone starts going off like that it just gets to me.” I sighed, my head bowing. Suddenly, Alastor grabbed my leg and pulled, sliding me down until I was on my back so he could climb on top of me. He pinned my hands above my head and straddled my legs.

“So you turn to the spider?” Alastor demanded, his grip on my wrists tightening. His eyes were just as crazed as his smile and his entire form started growing. Most of the overlords had two forms; their normal form and their demonic form. The demonic form could twist the demon’s body any which way, making them terrifying. Alastor was no different; his looks became eldritch and my eyes widened at the sight.

“Alastor...” I whispered his name and he growled in return.

“You are more than just some pawn to me,” his voice was glitching like crazy. “I have half a mind to rip Lucifer in half for what he said.”

“No! He’s the King of Hell! Do you have any idea what would happen if you did that?” I tried to break free from Alastor’s grasp but he was much stronger than me. “Alastor, let me go.” Despite his anger, he was holding back and I knew he was trying not to hurt me. Then it dawned on me; he was hurt. Hurt that I listened to Lucifer and, instead of just talking to him about it I turned to Angel Dust. Unable to move my hands or legs, I did the only other thing I could do; I leaned up and kissed him. He kissed me back, a bit roughly, but I didn’t mind. I opened my eyes and saw him turning back to his old self again and I smiled.

Alastor shuddered a bit before collapsing on me, his fingers interlacing with mine.

“The demon I am, what I’ve done in the past, has nothing to do with you,” Alastor whispered. “Lucifer was flaunting the power he has, something of which he knows I crave immensely. But no power compares to the feeling of your touch.”

“I swear you were a poet in your past life,” I hummed, laughing a bit.

“You bring out this side of me I never knew I had,” Alastor sighed. “You are not some pawn in my game. The others, yes. But not you. You never were. The only place I have wanted you in is beside me.”

“So there is a game.” I peered down at Alastor; his eyes were closed and his smile was small, content.

“Only for my entertainment,” Alastor replied. “My hunt for power grew boring. All the other overlords are so predictable. When they can offer something more entertaining than this hotel, I will go back to the hunt. But for now, I am quite happy where I am.” My heart skipped a beat when he said that and a stupid grin lit up my face.

“Sorry I’m such an insecure brat that I don’t talk to you about things,” I said. Alastor got up from me and leaned over me again.

“The apologizing has to stop,” he said. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” Alastor ran a claw along my jaw, his lips following the trail it made. I let out a shaky breath as he went down one side and then the other. “Let’s forget our past...just think of the future we could have, the power the two of us could wield together.” He moved to me neck, my collarbone, the tops of my breasts...I could feel fire stirring within me as I bit back a moan.

“Alastor,” I gasped. “You’re probably going to want to stop now unless you plan on fixing the problem you’re currently creating.” Alastor paused and looked up at me, his eyes narrowing slightly as he grinned.

“Now why would I do that?” He asked, his voice sweet like honey. He parted my legs with one of his and pressed against me. This time I did moan and it was embarrassingly loud. Alastor chuckled, letting go of my hands and grabbing my hips. He nipped at my neck and I drew in a shaky breath. I tangled my hands in his hair, holding him to me. He was being so gentle, ever so aware of the danger his teeth and claws had and yet that just got me going even more. Unable to help myself, I started rolling my hips into him, my eyes fluttering at the feeling. His hands slipped under my tank, moving up my sides and just as he neared my chest...he pulled completely away and lay down beside me, a giant grin on his face.

“Wha-” I looked over at him.

“You said I should stop,” he shrugged.

“That’s not...you did that on purpose!” I huffed. Jackass.

“It’s the middle of the night, darling,” Alastor laughed, pulling me towards him. “I’m only thinking about how tired you’re going to be tomorrow. Can’t have that, can we?” He nuzzled my cheek and placed a small kiss there before turning me over and spooning me.

“I hate you.” I muttered.

“I know, dear.”

\- - -

I woke up alone, not that that really surprised me; Alastor was always up before me. But I had kind of hoped for morning cuddles. Groaning, I got ready for the day, taking a quick shower and changing into some jeans and a long sleeved shirt. I headed downstairs and was greeted with yelling and then suddenly, I was being grabbed around the waist and held in front of Angel Dust.

“Nobody move or the girl gets it!” He yelled. I froze unsure of what to make of the situation. Alastor was standing off to the side, watching with an amused expression. Husk was drinking but eyeing the situation, Charlie was sitting on the couch reading and Vaggie...Vaggie was barrelling towards us.

“It’s way to fucking early for this shit,” I sighed. Vaggie stopped in front of me, glaring at Angel. “What did he do?”

“I found drugs in his room!” Vaggie screeched. “He’s been doing drugs the entire time he’s been here!”

“So what?” Angel scoffed. “You let Husk drink all day.” Vaggie yelled and threw a near by vase at Angel’s head, which he easily ducked out of the way of.

“Hey! I’m right here!” I reminded her.

“Alright!” Angel sneered. “I’m just gonna walk backwards, towards the door, and you’re gonna let me. Otherwise, Red here gets to know real pain.”

“Bitch, I can take you,” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

“Shut up!” Angel whined. “You’re ruining this.”

“Hey, isn’t that Fat Nuggets going out the door?” I suddenly asked. Angel let me go and whirled around.

“Fat Nuggets no!” He yelled. Laughing manically, I moved away and gestured for Vaggie to proceed. When Angel realized I had lied, he slowly turned around and laughed nervously at Vaggie.

“If looks could kill,” I commented. Screaming, Angel ran for it with Vaggie chasing after him. They ran up the stairs and I waited for a moment until I heard a loud crash and another scream. “Well he’s dead.” Charlie sighed and got up.

“Good Morning, Amelia,” she greeted. “We’ve been having quite the morning.”

“I can see that.” I followed her into the kitchen and started making some tea. “How did the rest of the party go?”

“As good as it could, I suppose,” Charlie replied, sitting at the island. “My mom and dad left early but we did get some interest in the hotel! We’re having an open house next week!”

“That’s great!” I grinned.

“Are you okay? You were so upset last night.” Charlie worried her lip between her teeth and I smiled reassuringly at her.

“I’m okay. Your father is a bit...much... but nothing I can’t handle.” Which was a total lie but hey, no reason why Charlie should be upset over it. I set a cup of tea down in front of her and sat beside her at the island. “But at least the turnout was good!”

“And Alastor seemed to really like the dress,” Charlie said slyly, side eyeing me.

“Heh...yeah...” I felt my face go red. “Red is is favourite colour.”

“You know, it’s weird,” Charlie turned back to her tea. “Everyone always says how dangerous he is and yet he’s done nothing to hurt any of us.”

“I don’t think any of us have ever really given him a reason to,” I replied. “Well, except Angel. The first night I stayed here, that I actually remember, I thought Alastor was going to strangle him.” I laughed at the memory; Angel had followed Alastor around all night, asking Alastor to ‘be his daddy’. The look of utter horror on Alastor’s face had been priceless. Charlie laughed with me at the memory, nodding her head.

“Yes, Angel is pretty intense.” We both quieted down after that and drank our tea in silence. It was nice; Charlie was another person I didn’t have to fill the void of silence with. “You know, I’m glad you’re here. I’m not glad about the circumstances that brought you here but...you seem to be good for the two of them. I just wish you didn’t have to hide away so much. Maybe I can convince dad to send out some demons to find Jules.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I shook my head. “The thing about Jules is he’s going to keep playing this game until he’s bored with it. Trust me, I’ve dealt with someone exactly like him before. The minute he realizes he isn’t going to win, he’ll leave.”

“Are you sure?” Charlie asked. “Are you really sure?”

“...No,” I sighed. “I’m hopeful.” Charlie nodded and patted my hand. We put our cups in the sink and headed back out to the lobby. Vaggie had come back downstairs, a hogtied Angel beside her on the floor. Alastor was leaning against the bar, pulling Husk’s whiskers when Husk wasn’t looking and Nifty was running around dusting everything. “Another day in the madhouse.” I muttered under my breath and Charlie laughed.

“Charlie, we need to figure out what to do with this one.” Vaggie said, kicking Angel. “I say we house arrest him.”

“Because that works so well,” I cocked my hip and crossed my arms. Vaggie rolled her eyes.

“Well we have to do something! At this rate, he’ll just make a joke out of us again!” She groaned.

“I’m right here ya know,” Angel complained. “And I’m very uncomfortable. I mean, I love being tied up just like everyone else but only when it’s in the bedroom!”

“Who are you counting as everyone?” Charlie asked, trying to hide her laugh.

“Well, not this one,” Angel nodded towards me. “Fucking vanilla through and through.”

“Shut up.” It was my turn to kick Angel. “I’m not vanilla.”

“Van-ill-a.” Angel sang. “You and Smiles both. If you guys do end up banging, it’ll be the most boring sex anyone has ever had!” Angel cackled.

“You’re such an ass.” I ground out as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“You love me!”

“Well as fun as this conversation is,” Vaggie said flatly. “I say we act like a rehab and force the drugs out of his system. He needs to detox if we’re going to get anywhere with him.” While Charlie and Vaggie figured that out, I made my way over to the bar to save Husk from any more Alastor abuse. Just as Alastor was about to grab another whisker, I grabbed his hand and interlaced my fingers with it, smiling sweetly up at him.

“Fucking _thank you_ ,” Husk threw his hands up. “Fucker has been bothering me all morning. Take him away!” He started chugging from a bottle of liquor and I giggled.

“Are you being mean?” I asked Alastor who grinned down at me.

“Of course not! Me? Mean? Perish the thought!” He played his laugh track which only made me shake my head. “I am curious though. What did Angel mean by ‘Vanilla’?” Husk spit his drink out and fell to the floor laughing. The conversation behind us stopped as well as Angel joined in. I turned and saw Charlie covering her mouth, trying not to laugh and Vaggie facepalming. Turning back to Alastor, I looked up at him while trying to think of what to say.

“Oh you sweet summer child,” I eventually spit out, which only made Angel and Husk laugh harder. “That’s going to be a conversation for when you’re _older!”_ Alastor raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused.

“I already am older!” Alastor declared. “Much older than any of you.”

“Oh dear...” I facepalmed. I turned away and walked towards the couch, sitting down while covering my face. “I’m not ready to have this talk yet.” I sighed.

“You knew this was coming Red!” Angel laughed. “They have to grow up at some point!”

“No...” I groaned. I peeked over at Alastor who was still looking at me with confusion.

“Right. Well,” Vaggie started dragging Angel towards the lift. “You’re grounded. Charlie, help me take him to his room.”

“What?! Grounded?” Angel yelled and started struggling. “No, no, no! I-I can’t be grounded! I have so much to live for! Red! Husk! Help!” We could hear him yelling all the way up to his floor and then blissful silence. Husk had finally calmed down from laughing and was now staring at me with evil amusement.

“What?” I asked, looking over at him.

“You wanna tell him or should I?” Husk motioned towards Alastor.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” I giggled. “Who knows what you’d tell him.” Husk just shrugged and went back to drinking while Alastor came over and sat down beside me. I leaned against his arm, resting my head on his shoulder, and sighed. It was really quiet for once and I was just happy to bask in it for a moment. Then someone started knocking at the door. “I got it.” I groaned as I stood up, heading to the front door. As I opened it, a letter was shoved under my nose by an imp.

“Letter for Ms. Amelia!” He chittered.

“Uh...thanks.” I grabbed the letter and watched as the imp hobbled down the stairs before closing the door. Confused, I opened the letter and began reading.

_My Dearest Amelia,_

_Why do we play these games? We both know we belong together. After everything I’ve done for you, you owe me. I don’t like waiting like this. So I’ve decided to make the next move! Sasha did such a good job distracting all of you while I had others look the place over. Very low defenses. I am slightly disappointed but, we are talking about the Princess here. She isn’t the brightest. But now I know every way to get in and out. You know, your room is rather small. I would have given you a room fit for a queen! No matter, all of that will be fixed. I’m coming for you, my love! Please wait for me._

_All my heart,_

_Jules_

Ice ran through my veins as I read the letter. He was coming...He was more deluded than I thought. Looking up from the letter, I saw Alastor standing in front of me. I had been so lost in my own thoughts I didn’t even hear him approach.

“Darling, did you hear me? I asked what it was?” Alastor pointed down at the letter. I handed it over and watched his eyes darkened and his smile turned into an angry smirk.

“So, our little bird thinks he can just come here when he pleases.” Alastor’s voice glitched at the end and I shivered a little at the anger radiating off of him.

“What’s this?” Charlie popped up beside us looking a little mussed from her fight with Angel. She read the letter quickly and her face read murder; her eyes turned red and she bared her fangs. “He was here?!”

“Not him,” I shook my head. “His lackeys. But they were in my room.” I shuddered at the thought of it. That had been my safe place when I first got here, somewhere I could hide. And now that was violated. I could hear Charlie and Alastor talking but I wasn’t registering what they were saying. All I could see was his face and hear his laugh. Taunting me, driving me closer to the edge of insanity.

Someone grabbed my hang and I jumped. Vaggie stepped in my line of view, a look of concern on her face. She said something but I couldn’t hear her over the roar in my ears. That’s when things started getting fuzzy and I suddenly felt myself falling as my vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly feel like he would be an extreme tease. Like, sure, he may not feel desire but he knows when someone else does and he knows how to play with it so they bend to his will. Because he's Alastor and having that control over someone is his nature. But yeah, I think the chapters are going to get a bit more...exciting in that department from here on out. Still don't know if they'll do the big one yet. Eeeeeeh we'll see.
> 
> Also jesus christ I creeped myself out with that letter from Jules.


	8. Protector of All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia doesn't know how to process everything that's happening

I awoke to claws gently stroking my hair and soft kisses being placed on my forehead. I hummed at the feeling and opened my eyes slowly. Alastor was leaning over me, his hand pausing when he saw that I was awake. I looked around and noticed we were in his bedroom, the curtains pulled so it was quite dim.

“Darling?” Alastor’s voice was soft, barely a whisper. “Are you alright? You took quite the fall.”

“I think I’m okay,” I replied, my voice just as soft. “Guess I just couldn’t handle it.”

“Yes well,” Alastor’s eyes darkened for a moment before going back to normal. “I don’t blame you. But until we figure all of this out, I want you staying here, with me. If they got to your room so easily, I don’t want to find out he can too.”

“Alastor, you don’t need to-”

“No. You, my dear, don’t get a choice in this I’m afraid,” Alastor cut me off. “I am not going to have that feather brained idiot think he can take what is mine.”

“Yours, eh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Alastor looks surprised for a second, thinking over what he just said. I waited while he waged that inner war, I knew this wasn’t easy on him.

“Yes,” he finally nodded and took my hand. “ _Mine._ ” Looking down at me, I could almost see another wall inside him crumbling and I felt one in me come down as well. I didn’t mind that at all. I ghosted my fingers along his face and he leaned into the touch, a small sigh escaping him.

I wasn’t allowed out of bed for the rest of the day, Alastor too worried I’d faint again and hit my head on something. He busied himself with making sure my things were moved into his suite and put away before he brought me a book to read. As for the others, they set to work making sure nobody could enter the hotel without them knowing; I wasn’t given all the details from Angel, just told that ‘they were on it’.

Around lunch, I was so bored that I had started balling up tissue paper and throwing them at Alastor as he sat at a small work table on the other side of the room. After about the fourth horrible shot, he sat up and turned to look at me, his eyebrow raised and a strained smile on his face.

“Can I help you?” He asked as I grinned sweetly at him.

“I’m bored!” I huffed. “And you’re refusing to let me leave so I must amuse myself in other ways.” I balled up another tissue and threw it, this time hitting him in the face. He didn’t even flinch. Instead, he slowly got up and made his way over to the bed.

“You’re bored,” he repeated, dragging his claws along the comforter. “So you decide to make a mess of my room?” When he reached me he grabbed my chin, moving my head back so I was looking up at him. “And you have a perfectly good book to read instead.”

“Maybe I just want attention,” I replied. “But you’re too busy with your work.”

“Do you realize how much of a brat you are at times?” Alastor asked, amusement in his voice.

“Very much so.” I nodded and smiled. Alastor climbed onto the bed and flopped down beside me, pulling me with him so I was laying partially on top of him. He brushed some hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear while his other hand snaked around my waist and pulled me closer.

“Is this enough attention?” He asked, running a claw down my cheek.

“Hmm...nope.” I grinned. Alastor hummed and flipped us over so he was on top.

“Is this enough?” He asked again and I shook my head. Smirking, he leaned down so his lips brushed over mine. “What about this?” He kissed me fully then and I sighed happily into it. His hand slid down my side, roaming over my leg until it reached my knee; he lifted my leg up and wrapped it around his waist, settling himself closer to me. I pulled back slightly, needing to gasp for breath, and Alastor began trailing kisses down to my neck and shoulder. Feeling bold, I ran my hands through his hair and to his ears, running my fingers along the backs of them. Alastor jerked and growled in response but made no move to stop me. Giggling slightly, I rubbed his ears closer to the base of them, feeling them twitch as Alastor panted against my neck.

It was actually really adorable, how he was reacting; little whines coming forth every so often and I knew he was embarrassed by it, absolutely hating that I knew this weakness in him but at the same time he wasn’t stopping me. In fact, he was starting to lean into my hands, trying to get closer as I ghosted my fingers along the edges of his ears.

“Do you want me to stop?” I asked, trying to peer down at his face. He shook his head, nuzzling his face closer to my neck as he did so. “Good. Because it isn’t fair that you get to tease me but I can’t do the same to you.” I giggled again as he groaned.

“I’ll just have to think of other, worse ways to tease,” Alastor promised. He pulled away from me then and I let my hands fall to my sides. “Since you like being such a brat.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he smirked, fixing his hair. He moved so he was laying down beside me again and I rolled onto my side so I could face him.

“We should talk about what’s going to happen.” I sighed and ran my fingers up and down his arm.

“What, exactly, is going to happen?” Alastor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Jules?” I replied. “I mean, I can’t stay hidden away forever. He’s going to eventually get tired of playing this game and come after me again.”

“Or you could stay hidden away forever. With me.” Alastor pulled me closer to him as he spoke. “I’ll make sure he can’t get within twenty feet of this hotel. Let the others deal with him, darling.”

“They have their own lives,” I shook my head. “All I mean is that we should have a plan! I’ve dealt with someone like him before, I know what’s going to come next.” Alastor’s eyes narrowed and the static around us grew louder.

“What’s going to happen is I’m going to rip his heart out and devour it while he watches,” Alastor growled. His eyes were staring past me, like he was waiting for Jules to burst into the room at any moment.

“Charming.” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Alastor looked back at me, his smile softening. “You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re over protective.”

“Cute?” Alastor scoffed. “My dear, I am the feared Radio Demon. I am not ‘cute’. I am dangerous, I can harness power you could only dream of.”

“And you’re cute.” I concluded, nodding my head once. He narrowed his eyes playfully at me.

“Call me that again and you’ll regret it.” His voice went low, the radio breaking off on the last word. I leaned in close, our noses brushing, and I smiled.

“You’re,” I started, slowly. “Cute. Especially with those fluffy ears of yours. Downright adorable.” Alastor snarled and grabbed me, pinning me down to the bed and looming over me, his eyes darkening with something I’d never seen on him before. He moved my arms up and over my head, holding them easily with one of his own. His other hand gently scratched down my skin until it cupped my breast, squeezing slightly. My eyes widened at that and his smirk turned sinister.

“I told you,” his voice lowered, deepening. “I would think of worse ways to tease you.” Gulping, I stared him dead in the eye as he continued to massage me before he slipped his hand under my shirt. His claws gently raked up me, pulling my shirt along until it was bunched up under my chin. Alastor stared down at me and I felt shyness sneak through me. I had never really thought about being with Alastor with no clothes on. I mean, my bra was still on but I still felt pretty naked at that moment. He could sense my sudden discomfort and ran his hand down my face, placing a soft kiss on my lips.

“Don’t do that,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re beautiful.” He raised his hand up and snapped his fingers and I felt something slither over my wrists. Looking up, I saw a rope had replaced Alastor’s hand, tying me to the headboard.

“Uh...” I looked back at Alastor who continued smirking. “I don’t believe I consented to this.”

“Do you trust me?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Loaded question.” I replied and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, I trust you.” Alastor’s grin came on full force and his eyes lidded a bit.

“I won’t do anything you don’t want,” Alastor promised. “This is just to ensure _you_ don’t do anything.” He gave me a pointed look and I instantly knew he meant his ears. Cheater. I wasn’t able to dwell on it much, however, because he lowered his head to my chest and started kissing everywhere he could reach. He paid a lot of attention to the edge of my bra, his tongue darting out to sweep along it. Needless to say, I started squirming right away, my hands itching to touch him.

He slipped a claw under the front of my bra and easily sliced it in half, pushing the material back so it wasn’t in the way. Alastor leaned back to look at me and whatever he saw seemed to please him. He met my gaze and slowly licked his lips. I felt heat rush up my body as I finally placed that look in his eyes; it was hunger.

“You, my dear, look absolutely _delicious._ ” His voice was as sweet as honey as his hands roamed over my newly exposed skin. I whimpered a bit, my legs tightening as my need for _something_ became more apparent. He laughed darkly at that, his eyes never leaving mine. “Impatient, aren’t we?”

“Jackass,” I groaned. He bent his head back to my chest and started nipping at my skin before soothing it with his tongue. I gasped when he pinched me and tried to move away but I couldn’t get very far, he wouldn’t let me. Alastor’s hands started moving lower over my stomach, his claws slipping under the waistband of my jeans and tugging slightly. Just as he was about to undo them, the door slammed open and Angel waltzed in.

“Hey kid! I brought so-HOLY SHIT!” Angel screamed, throwing a tray of food up in the air. Alastor quickly yanked my shirt down and undid the rope around my hands before he whirled around to face Angel. “PUT A SOCK ON THE DOOR!”

“Haven’t you ever heard of _knocking?_ ” Alastor demanded, his voice clipped. “How did you even get in here?” I hid myself under the covers, not wanting Angel to see me. My face felt so red, I was never going to be able to leave the room again.

“The door was unlocked!” Angel huffed. “My poor virgin eyes! I guess I was wrong about you two, you’re not vanilla!”

“Angel get out!” I yelled from my hideaway.

“Sorry if I ruined the mood!” Angel called to me as he left the room. I heard the door slam shut and peeked out from under the covers. Alastor was gone too. I heard muffled voices and then another door slam before he returned; he looked as frazzled as I felt.

“Well, I’ll be making sure to lock both doors from now on,” Alastor commented flatly. I groaned and hid back under the covers.

\- - -

I was finally allowed to leave the suite around dinner time, mainly because Alastor had to go and make food for everyone. I didn’t want to leave after Angel walked in on us but I couldn’t hide from him forever. And knowing him, everyone in the hotel knew about that little encounter. I was sad to find out I was right once Husk took one looked at me and quickly turned away. Charlie and Vaggie seemed unable to look at me either and I groaned, flopping down on the couch.

“I’m going to kill him.” I ground out, covering my face with my hands.

“Already dead, toots,” Angel said, plopping himself down beside me.

“Did you have to tell them?” I huffed, crossing my arms.

“I was traumatized!” Angel leaned back and threw an arm over his face. “There I was, being sweet and bringing ya some food and I get the view of a lifetime!” He peeked at me from under his arm. “I knew you had a good rack but _damn_ do you have a good rack.” I grabbed a pillow and pounced on him, covering his face with it. He struggled, trying to throw me off of him.

“What is going on here?” Charlie asked, coming up behind the couch.

“I’m trying to smother Angel,” I replied. “He isn’t making it easy though.”

“Mmpf! Rrmmpf!” Angel tried speaking through the pillow so I pulled it up.

“What was that?” I asked sweetly.

“I said this fucking bitch is insane!” Angel spat out and threw me off of him. “Jesus. You’ve been spending too much time with Smiles.” Angel smoothed out his fur and fluffed himself up a bit.

“Anyways...” Charlie shook her head. “Amelia, we’ve made it so no one can get in or out without us knowing. I had someone set up an alarm system and there’s a spell over the doors and windows too. It’ll alert me right away if someone we don’t know is sneaking in.” I nodded and thanked her, curling up on the side of the couch and sighing.

“What’s up, toots?” Angel asked.

“You guys are going through such lengths for me,” I replied. “I just don’t know how to repay you all.”

“You don’t have to repay us!” Charlie said, sitting next to me. “You’re our friend! Plus, you’re a resident of this hotel and the one thing I want my residents to feel is safe. Jules is not getting anywhere near you. I promise.” She hugged me then, offering comfort so easily. I hugged her back just as easily, thanking fate that I had found such wonderful friends in such a horrid place. It was hard to remember we were in Hell sometimes.

Dinner had been a delicious soup filled with vegetables, chunks of meat and noodles. As we ate, we talked and laughed. Well, aside from Husk who only grunted every so often and drowned himself in more booze. The events from earlier seemed to have been forgotten, thankfully; otherwise, I would have died from the embarrassment.

After we had finished eating and cleaned up, everyone seemed rather tired; yawns went around like crazy and everyone was bleary eyed. I could feel the effects myself, wanting nothing more than to just curl up with Alastor and sleep the rest of the night away. Which is what we all decided to do. Everyone called it an early night and sleepily made their way upstairs, Alastor practically carrying me because I was so tired.

When we finally got to his room, I didn’t even want to change into sleep clothes but I made myself to so, and I forced myself through my normal nighttime routine. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, Alastor following soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Hey. It's been a minute. So that bedroom scene, huh? *waggles eyebrows* Gotta love comedy. Also also! I'm going to be starting up another Hazbin fic soon! If you like this one, I hope you'll take a look at this new one too. I just have so many ideas for fics it's hard to not explode. 
> 
> The new one doesn't have a name yet but here's a little something something to get ya'll interested: 
> 
> Demons walked among us, and I wasn’t just talking about those who were troubled; I meant actual demons. Years and years ago, Heaven and Hell made themselves known to the human race. Nobody knew why and none of the angels or demons would say. All we knew was that sinners did go to Hell, and those who lived pure lives went to Heaven. Of course, the angels didn’t really walk among the humans, deeming themselves too pure for Earth. The demons, however, had no such qualms. They loved to watch man kind sully their souls, slaughtered those weaker than them, fed off the sins that we humans committed and even helped some along the way. That’s when the Hunters were formed; humans that had been chosen by Heaven to wield the only weapons known to hurt a demon. 
> 
> Trained to hunt demons and kill them without mercy, Hunters were born and bred to be the destruction of pure evil. The Earthly Angels, as some religious groups called us, or, and my personal favourite, Heaven’s Army. And this is where I come in; Harper Sutton, twenty-five years old and a damn good Hunter. At least, I would be if I had ever actually killed a demon. See, I wasn’t your average Hunter. The Sutton family was old and full of lunatics, my father being one of them. He had wanted to make the greatest Hunter known to mankind; someone who was just as fast and deadly as a demon but still human. So he began his experiments, trying to create a hybrid of sorts. 
> 
> After many failed attempts, my father finally realized that the only thing he had to do was use my mother. He got her pregnant with me and fed her demon blood, unbeknownst to her, which led to certain changes in my normal growth as a fetus. Nine months later and my mother gave birth to the first ever demon human hybrid and the process nearly killed her. I think, after she realized what I was, she wanted to have died during childbirth but she had her other children to think about as well. 
> 
> Sooooo yeah. Stay tuned for that. It's going to be more graphic than this one. Reader beware. Bye!


	9. Waking Up In Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia wakes up and finds herself...not at the hotel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bout to get creepy

I was awoken to claws gently combing through my hair and I felt a small smile appear on my face. I sighed happily and moved back a bit so I was closer to Alastor but...something felt wrong.

“My, my~ Someone is rather happy this morning.” A voice that did not belong to Alastor cooed in my ear. My eyes shot open and I looked around; not the hotel, not Alastor’s room and definitely not Alastor. I turned my head and found Jules leaning over me, staring at me unblinking. “I’m so glad you’re awake! I must have overdone it with that sleeping draft. I’ll have to remember only to use half a bottle next time.” I jerked away from Jules and hastily put space between us; I ended up falling off of the bed he had put me on.

“W-what? Where am I? How did you...?” My eyes darted around, trying to find an escape.

“That spell your friends put up was cute,” Jules laughed, getting up from the bed. “It might have worked too, if I hadn’t already been inside the hotel the entire time.” I looked back at him, my eyes wide with horror. “Yes, I had been there since the night of the party. Oh, how it was so hard for me to not snatch you that night! You looked so beautiful in that dress.” He sighed dreamily and smiled. “But no, I had to play my cards right. Couldn’t risk that deer chasing after me. So instead, I put you all into a deep sleep! My, how easy it was to steal you away from that horrid beast! I can’t believe you’d let such a monster touch you!”

“He’s not the monster,” I snarled, baring my fangs at Jules. His only reply was to chuckle at my display.

“Come now, you’re not still mad at me, are you?” He asked.

“What do you think?” I snarked, standing up so I was no longer vulnerable on the ground. “Let me go, Jules.”

“Go?” He asked, tilting his head. “No. I don’t think I will. Why would I let you go? You’re right where you belong!” He opened his arms wide, indicating the room. “I can’t risk those idiots finding you. No, you stay here. You’ll be happy here!” Quick as a snake, Jules grabbed my face and squeezed slightly. He leaned down to me, his eyes never leaving mine, and spoke so his voice was only a whisper. “Amelia, my darling little dove. I have you right where I want you.”

“Jules, please,” I pleaded, tears falling down my face. “I don’t want to be here.”

“Now! There are rules!” Jules let me go and acted as if I hadn’t spoken. “If you behave, you will be allowed to leave this room. Until such time, this is where you remain. Your meals will be in here and you will always eat with me. No one but myself is allowed in here. Remember that. You will not try to contact that bastard and trust me when I say that I will know. I will always know what you are up to.” His eyes narrowed and he smiled, a twisted, creepy thing that sent ice running through my veins.

“You’re insane!” I yelled. “Let me go! Please! I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be anywhere near you! They’re going to find me, you know they will.”

“Nobody will find you, sweetheart,” Jules replied. “They don’t care about you! Not like I do. You’ll soon see that. Now, I have some work to do so you stay here. I have some books for you to read and movies I know you’ll enjoy. I’ll be back in a few hours!” He blew me a kiss and headed for the door, quickly slipping out of the room; I heard a click and knew he locked me in. I stood there, frozen in place, as I processed everything. Looking around the room, I saw there were no windows and the only furniture was the bed, which had black sheets and a midnight blue comforter. There was a small bathroom off to the side, which also had no windows, and a TV mounted to the wall. I covered my mouth as a sob escaped me and I crumpled to the floor, letting the tears flow free.

The others would find me, I knew they would. They had to...I couldn’t stand the thought of being trapped with that monster for any length of time. I had no idea what he would force on me and I didn’t want to dwell on that matter for too long. How did we not know? How had he been able to so easily drug all of us? Alastor would have noticed, _should_ have noticed that something was off with the food. None of us had ever gone to bed that early. How did we _not know_?

After I had cried my frustrations out, I sat up and looked around. Nothing in here would help me, Jules had made sure of that, so the only thing I could do was wait. Dragging myself into the corner farthest from the door, I huddled into it and wrapped my arms around my knees. Someone would come. Someone would find me. I had to hold onto that.

Those few hours came and went by slowly. Every noise had me jumping, thinking Jules was coming back to do unthinkable things to me. I was tiring myself out with how overworked I was and I could eventually feel my eyes start to droop. I fought to stay awake, not wanting to be left in a vulnerable state around Jules. I needed to be ready for anything.

Eventually, anything came. The door unlocked just as I was fading off into dreamland and jolted me awake. Jules slipped through the door, carrying a tray of food, a bag and flowers.

“I have returned!” He announced. He looked around, trying to find me, when his eyes landed on my huddled form. “What are you doing in the corner?”

“Trying to stay away from you,” I spat but he only smiled.

“Come now! I’ve brought you some lunch! You must be starving.” He put the tray down on the bed but I refused to move; yes, I was extremely hungry but there was no way I was going to eat what he brought me. He could have but any number of things in it. Jules made his way over to me and extended his arm, offering the flowers. I swatted them away while baring my fangs at him. He pouted but shrugged and set the flowers down on the bed as well.

Jules then opened the bag, pulling out an assortment of clothes; dresses, shirts, pants and skirts. They all looked expensive and not made for every day wear. The fucker was trying to dress me up like a doll. One by one, he laid them out on the bed, nodding to himself as he did so. Then the bras and underwear started coming out and I nearly gagged. There was hardly any cloth to some of them.

“You aren’t expecting me to wear those, are you?” I demanded, disgust dripping in my voice.

“Well you can’t wear that forever,” Jules replied, waving towards me without looking. “I thought you’d look lovely in these. Especially the dresses and skirts. They make things so much _easier._ ” I shuddered at his tone and the implications behind it. “Maybe you can gift me with a fashion show! Oh, I’d love that.”

“Over my dead body!” I snarled.

“Your dramatics are becoming boring, dear heart,” Jules warned. “You will do as I ask or this will become very unpleasant very quickly.”

“It was unpleasant the moment I woke up here.” I huffed and crossed my arms. Sighing, Jules came over and grabbed my forearms, forcing me to stand up and face him.

“My dearest Amelia,” he began, stroking some hair out of my face. “Why do you fight me so much? I’ve done nothing but shower you with love and yet you despise me.”

“It might have something to do with the fact that you _beat and raped me you asshole!”_ I yelled, trying to get away from him.

“That was merely a reminder of who is in charge! I had been going so easy on you at the diner that you forgot!” Jules defended himself. “I promise I’ll only ever touch you when you want me to.” I looked down at his hands pointedly and he let me go. “See? You can trust me!”

“No, I can’t.” I stepped away from him. “All you’ve done is hurt me and try to take me away from everyone. You literally drugged and kidnapped me! What about all of that screams trust?!” Jules blinked slowly at me, confusion written all over his face.

“I love you. Shouldn’t that be enough?” He asked, tilting his head. It then dawned on me that he was a fucking moron among all other things. Seeing that his answer clearly wasn’t what I wanted, Jules sighed and pouted again.

While this was going on, neither of us noticed a piece of my shadow break off and zoom from the room. Both Jules and I were too focused on one another, me trying to get the point across to him and him trying to ‘woo’ me.

“Anyways! I do believe I wanted a fashion show.” Jules smiled and motioned towards the clothes. My stomach turned over and threatened to spew. “And remember, if you don’t listen to me, I’ll have to give you another reminder.” Wincing at the threat, I glanced over the clothes on the bed and decided on the less dangerous; a silky, black shirt with roses stitched into it and a pair of black jeans. I gingerly picked them up, eyeing Jules as I did so, and headed for the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind me.

So I paraded around in the clothes Jules had bought, wishing for oblivion to swallow me up and take me far away. By the end of it, Jules looked like he wanted to devour me and I felt the urge to start screaming for help. I felt gross and the need to boil myself in bleach was high. Thankfully, Jules kept his word and didn’t touch me, though I could tell it was a strain on him. Instead, he sat me down and made me eat, much to my displeasure. I noticed it was all food I could eat with my fingers; guess Jules didn’t trust me with utensils just yet.

“Well, this day has been quite exciting!” Jules grinned. “But you must be exhausted. I’ll leave you to rest, my love.” He grabbed my hand and bent over it, brushing his beak over my skin. I stayed frozen solid as he did this, snatching my hand back as soon as he let me go. “Goodnight!” With that, Jules left again and I looked around hopelessly. I had nothing in this damned room that could help me. I was fucking stuck in the worst place in Hell and I couldn’t do anything about it. So, I did the only thing I could do and I curled up on the bed, hoping that this was all just a nightmare and I’d wake up back in Alastor’s arms. God, was I so wrong.

\- - -

Days passed by and with them, most of Jules’ horrible advances. He bought me jewellery, fine clothes and everything else under the sun to try and gain my favour. He’d make my favourite foods and talk while I ate; I rarely said anything to him. If I did, it was usually an insult or something filled with hatred so he’d know I didn’t want to be there with him. It never deterred him though. It only seemed to fuel his need to have me accept him even more. It was horrible to watch.

As Jules spoke, he mentioned the upcoming Extermination that was only a few days away and I shrunk in fear. I had yet to experience an Extermination, having arrived just a day after the last one. It was weird to think I had only been in Hell for a year.

“Not to worry! They won’t be able to get you in here!” Jules said, smiling at me. “I won’t let them.” He gave me a wink and I shuddered. Suddenly, Jules stood up and pulled me up with him. “How about a dance? I so badly wanted to sweep you across the floor the night of the party! You had looked so delightful!” He led me into a ballroom dance and I tripped over myself trying to keep up with him. This wasn’t like when Alastor had danced with me; with him, it had been fun and light and I had loved every second of it. With Jules, it was forced and left me feeling sick to my stomach.

Jules sighed happily as he twirled me away from him and then back into his arms. As the dance slowly came to an end, I felt Jules’ hand slip lower down my back and I stiffened. I grabbed his arm and stopped him from going any lower, causing him to pout.

“Do not,” I hissed. “Even think about it.” I pushed away from him and stalked to the other side of the room.

“Why won’t you just admit that this was meant to be?” Jules asked, sighing. “Why can’t you just let me love you?”

“Because you’re a fucking psycho!” I yelled. “You think that beating me up and _raping me_ was a show of affection? You think I’d want anything to do with you after that?”

“Alastor is just as bad, if not worse, than me,” Jules sat on the bed and regarded me carefully. “Do you know what he’s done? Why he was sent to Hell to begin with? And yet you would dare love a creature as horrible as him?”

“I think everyone down here did something horrible,” I snapped. “That’s why we’re down here!”

“Oh no, no, no!” Jules shook his head. “Alastor is one of the worst! He killed and ate his victims and a few of them had been friends of his! If rumours are true, he would often lure innocent, beautiful women to him. Apparently the flesh of the innocent is more delectable. No sins to dirty it.” I felt my stomach roll at the thought of eating people. “And then when he came down here? Oh, the souls he tortured! The countless number of demons he killed just because he could! Dear friends of mine gone in an instant! He’s dangerous, cruel and vile; just as you claim me to be. So then why, dear heart, do you so willingly let him touch you? Especially when he is probably just thinking about eating you?” He got up and made his way over to me, placing one hand on my shoulder while the other tilted my head up so I was forced to look at him. “Think about it.” His voice was a whisper and then he was gone, slipping through the door and locking it behind him.

I slumped against the wall, rubbing a hand down my face. Yes, I knew Alastor had done some terrible things but so had Angel and Vaggie! None of the demons down here were good people and they never claimed to be! Well, maybe except Charlie. She was about as angelic as they come. Aside from that, I knew Alastor was not innocent of anything. Even if I didn’t know exactly what he had done, I didn’t believe I should judge him for his past like everyone seemed to do. He had done nothing to hurt _me_ and, sure that doesn’t excuse everything but it was a whole lot better than what Jules did. But none of that mattered right now. My only hope was that someone would find me before Jules got impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man Jules is deranged.


	10. Some Fun Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia realizes time has run out and the Extermination is here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON ANY OTHER WEBSITE OR APP THAT IS NOT A03 (EXAMPLE: FANFIC POCKET ARCHIVE LIBRARY UNOFFICIAL) I DID NOT GIVE PERMISSION FOR MY WORKS TO BE REPOSTED. I DO NOT CONSENT TO THIS. PLEASE REPORT THIS APP AND READ MY WORKS ONLY ON A03. I REPEAT, NO CONSENT WAS GIVEN.
> 
> Heeeey so i've been on vacation (still on vacation) so I haven't had a chance to work on this until now. Enjoy!

Aside from Jules, though, I had something else to fear as well; the upcoming Extermination. Jules had said he wasn’t going to allow the Angels to get me but could he really hide us? Having no idea where we actually were, I couldn’t tell if we were close to the city or not but I did know that the Angels swept over every little hidey hole they could find. Save for some very strong magic, I didn’t think we stood too good of a chance at not being seen. I didn’t realize, however, how soon I’d find out.

From what Jules had said, I figured we still had a few days left before the Extermination began. But as I was settling in for the night, a loud and heavy sounding bell ran. It shook the foundation of the room and I jolted up in bed. With no windows, I couldn’t see what was happening but I could only imagine. Angel had once told me that the Exterminators came down in a wave, all one unit as they flew down. They held spears and swords which glowed, the only weapons known to kill a demon for good. The Exterminators wore masks, usually with ‘X’s over the eyes and a painted on smile. They wore pristine white robes and a halo always sat above their heads. They were terrifyingly tall and their voices were sweet and music like; they often called out to the demons, promising a free pass to Heaven. Those who followed the voices were struck down instantly.

“As they should be,” Angel had snorted. “It’s their own fault they believed no harm would happen. Heaven may say it’s pure and innocent but the Exterminators sure don’t act like it.” I agreed whole heartedly. For a place that only the innocent could enter, they were quick to sully themselves by spilling blood every year. Even if it was the blood of sinners.

Another bell sounded, bringing me out of my thoughts and I jumped out of bed, quickly changing into something that didn’t leave me so vulnerable. I ran to the door and tried turning the knob, crying out in frustration when, of course, it didn’t open.

“Jules!” I called, banging my fist against the wood. “Jules, open the door!” I pressed my ear against the door, trying to listen for approaching footsteps. I heard nothing. “Now isn’t the time for games, you giant bird brain! We need to go!” I let out a scream and backed up, kicking the door with all my might. I was proud to see a crack form up the wood; maybe I was stronger than I thought. Raising my foot up against, I kicked the same place. I continued doing this until a hole started appearing, bits of wood raining down as I kept at it. I stopped to peer through to the other side; it was dark but I could make out a hallway. Biting my lip, I reached through and fiddled with the doorknob, trying to unlock the door. It took a moment but I finally heard that beautiful click and I nearly sobbed in relief as the door opened.

Knowing that I had created enough noise already, I didn’t bother being quiet as I ran down the hallway. If Jules had heard me, he would have already come up which led me to believe that _he wasn’t here._ I didn’t know if that scared me more; had he decided to just leave me to fend for myself? Went into hiding without caring for my well being? Knowing him, probably. I found the stairs and practically fell down them in my haste. I wanted nothing more than to get outside and out of this damned house. It didn’t dawn on me that everything was dark. Usually, even at night time, there was a red light coming in the windows from the pentagram in the sky. We never had full on darkness like this. No, in my haste, I didn’t think to check the windows to see if it was safe. I didn’t think about the fact that, just maybe, Jules _had_ done something to protect me. Instead, I just barrelled to the front of the house and wretched the door open, breathing in the fresh air that came in.

It was then I realized my mistake. As I threw the door open, the first thing to greet me was the one thing I feared most; an Exterminator. They were standing at the bottom of the porch, regarding the house carefully. When our eyes met, it tilted it’s head. I stood frozen in place, fear running up my spine as I took in it’s very sharp looking sword.

“Demon.” It spoke, it’s voice just as sweet and musical as Angel had said. “Dear demon. Why do you look so frightened?” I couldn’t speak, my voice refused to come out. Instead, I took a step back as the Exterminator stepped forward. “Why don’t you come with me? I can bring you someplace safe.”

“Liar,” I hissed finally. I couldn’t let fear over come me. I had to shake myself out of it if I was going to survive. “You monsters are only hear to viciously destroy us. You’re as bad as we are.”

“No, no, no,” it shook it’s head as it continued walking towards me. “We are not monsters. We are saviours. We are here to free you from the torment of Hell. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“And send us into oblivion where nothing but darkness waits!” I slammed the door shut and turned around, trying to figure out my options. I didn’t have many; kitchen, living room or back upstairs. Which was the lesser of three evils? Well, the kitchen would hopefully have knives I could use. Hiding would do me no good, the Exterminator wouldn’t stop until it found me. Upstairs was just a dead end so kitchen it was. Just as I moved away from the door, the sword easily slid through the wood where I had been standing. Screaming, I rushed into the kitchen and found a knife block that, thankfully, had some pretty nasty looking knives in it. Pulling out the biggest one, I turned around just as the door flew off its hinges and crashed into the wall.

“Don’t run,” the Exterminator called. “It gets so tiresome.”

“Fuck you!” I yelled and held the knife out. The Exterminator laughed.

“Such a flimsy weapon,” it sighed. “How long do you expect to last with that?”

“Long enough.” I watched as the Exterminator crept forward, it’s head tilted as if in thought. I wasn’t prepared for when it flicked it’s hand and the knife went flying from my grasp. My eyes widened as I watched the knife embed itself into the wall.

“There. Now this will go much quicker.” The Exterminator lunged at me and I screwed my eyes shut, not wanting to see what happened next. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew around me and I felt something grab at my ankles. Cracking my eyes open, I saw a wall of shadow in front of me with the Exterminator stuck in it, the sword inches from my face. Small shadow creatures wove themselves around me, their eyes glowing.

“What is this?!” The Exterminator cried, it’s voice morphing into many different voices. “You hold no power! How are you doing this?!”

“I think you’ll find that this particular demon has friends in high places,” a voice I had longed to hear sounded around me and I nearly dropped to the floor. A shadow portal opened up beside me and Alastor walked out. His grin was twisted and feral, his pupils were radio dials and the static in the air was heavy.

“This won’t hold me forever!” The Exterminator screamed and already I could see the wall cracking.

“So we must make haste then!” Alastor replied and wrapped an arm around me, his eyes never leaving the Exterminator. “Sorry to cut the fun short but we must be going. Ta!” He pulled me through the portal and I clung to him for dear life as I heard the Exterminator scream again and what sounded like glass breaking. When my feet touched solid ground again, I felt my legs give out and if it hadn’t been for Alastor holding me up, I would have fallen. He scooped me up bridal style and manifested a chair to sit in. I took a moment to look around; we were in a small room that was dimly lit. The walls were made of dirt and it was bare of anything. I could hear movement above us and the occasional scream.

“Where are we?” I whispered, looking up at Alastor. His eyes had gone back to normal as he stared down at me, his smile still strained.

“Safe,” was all Alastor said, his voice also a whisper. I nodded and tucked my head under his chin. His arms tightened around me and we waited in silence.

After what felt like an eternity, the screaming stopped. Alastor peered up at the ceiling, listening for a moment, before nodding and standing up. I expected him to set me down but he instead carried me through another shadow portal and into the Hotel lobby.

“Red!” I heard Angel scream and he nearly tackled Alastor to get to me. All six of his arms grabbed me and yanked me from Alastor’s grip and I was suddenly being crushed into a hug. “Holy shit kid! You’re okay!” I awkwardly pat Angel on the back as he squeezed me.

“Hey,” I greeted, my voice cracking a bit. I didn’t realize how nice it was to hug Angel.

“That’s all I get?!” Angel practically yelled in my ear. “’Hey’?! You fucking get kidnapped and I just get a ‘Hey’!” I winced and pushed him away from me, backing away slightly.

“Angel!” I heard Charlie scold him. “She’s probably been through Hell! Leave her alone.” I felt Alastor wrap his arm around me again and pull me closer to him. Everyone else gathered around us, trying to make sure I was okay. Nifty was flitting left and right, checking me over and making sure I wasn’t hurt. Husk and Vaggie stood off to the side a bit, Husk looking unsure of how to react and Vaggie looking like she hadn’t slept in the last couple of days. Knowing her and Charlie though, I wouldn’t put it past them.

“I’m so happy to see all of you,” I sniffled and gave them a smile. “How did you find me?” I looked up at Alastor then who had been extremely quiet.

“Alastor found you!” Charlie answered for him. “Apparently he had attached one of his shadow minions to you and when we all realized you were gone, he called them back! I’m so sorry it took us so long. Jules had the place fortified against us. It took everything Alastor and I had to break down the magic surrounding that place. But then the Extermination happened and I had to come back here to make sure everyone was safe.” Now that she mentioned it, both her and Alastor had heavy bags under their eyes and they were paler than normal. I knew magic, especially strong magic, had a heavy toll on demons. My eyes misted over as I thought of them nearly destroying themselves to get to me.

“We probably would have gotten to you sooner, before the Extermination started, but once Jules realized what was going on he tried fighting us off,” Vaggie came up beside Charlie. Now that I could fully see her, I noticed some claw marks down her arm and her shirt was torn in places. “Fucker put up a fight too. Alastor and Charlie had to concentrate on the wards so Angel, Husk and I fought Jules.”

“Guys...” I blinked as tears started falling. “So, what happened to him? Where is he?”

“Hopefully dead,” Vaggie spat. “The bells started sounding and he took off into the woods. The Angels weren’t too far behind him.” I nodded and leaned against Alastor, my head resting against his chest.

“I think,” Alastor finally spoke up. “I should bring her upstairs. Charlie, could you make some tea?” Charlie nodded and headed for the kitchen while Alastor began walking towards the elevator. We were both quiet on the way up, a sudden exhaustion hitting me. When we got up to Alastor’s suite, and ushered me over to the couch and sat me down, pulling a blanket over my shoulders before settling down beside me. When he was settled, I curled up into his side and buried my face into his suit jacket, sobs finally escaping me. Alastor held me while I cried, his claws stroking my hair.

“Is there a way to make sure he is dead?” I asked between sobs. I didn’t want to keep going through this horrible ordeal.

“We’ll know by tomorrow,” Alastor replied. “They do a count of the surviving demons. If his name comes up as missing, we’ll know.” I nodded and released a shuddering breath. “If there is an off chance that he isn’t, I will find him and he will wish for death.” Alastor’s arms tightened around me again and the static picked up a bit.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” I admitted quietly. “I was so sure he was going to keep me locked up forever.”

“I am sorry you even had to go through that,” Alastor muttered. “It pains me a great deal to know I failed you in such a way.” That made me pause. I moved away and looked at him but he refused to meet my eye.

“You didn’t...Alastor, you didn’t fail me,” I cupped his face and tried to make him look at me but he was being stubborn. “How were we supposed to know? He was a step ahead of us.”

“I am the Radio Demon,” Alastor hissed. “I control power that cretin could only dream of and yet I failed to notice he had been here the whole time. I control the shadows and everything in them and yet he still got to you. Even with how strong I am, I am unable to protect you.” Alastor got up and walked towards the fireplace, his hands behind his back as he looked down at the ashes.

“I don’t blame you for that,” I watched his tense form, trying to think of something that would get him to relax. “You found me! You saved me from being killed. Again. How could you think you failed me?” I got up and stood behind him, resting my hands on his arms. “Please, don’t beat yourself up for this.” I rested my forehead on his back and felt the steady rhythm of him breathing.

“Amelia, I-”

“I love you,” I suddenly blurted. I felt him freeze up as blood rushed to my face. Okay, so we were doing this now. I let Alastor go and moved away, which allowed him to turn and look down at me. His smile was strained again. “I...Okay, I didn’t want to just blurt it out like that. I wanted to be very romantic about it but I didn’t know what else to say and now I’m worried now might not have been the best time and now I’m rambling so can you please say something!” However, instead of saying anything, Alastor grabbed my face and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to press closer to him as I felt warmth spread through me. His claws tangled in my hair, his teeth nipped at my bottom lip and I melted in his arms.

We were brought out of it when someone knocked at the door. Alastor pulled away and I whined in disappointment which made him chuckle darkly. He moved me back to the couch before going to answer the door. I heard him say a few words and then he was back carrying a tray with a tea pot and some cups. Right, I had forgotten Charlie was bringing tea. I curled my legs under me as Alastor prepared my cup and handed it to me.

I felt emotion swarm around me again as Alastor put an arm over my shoulders and held me close. I idly drew shapes into the back of Alastor’s hand as we sat there. The silence between us, for once, was thick and I felt the need to say something but I didn’t know what. I had no idea what was going on in his mind.

“Love is a...foreign concept to me,” Alastor suddenly began. “Never in my life had I imagined something like this being remotely possible. I saw my life as a solitary one and I was quite happy with that. I had my work, which was more than enough for me, and my...extracurricular activities of course. When I came down here, I was so consumed by the power I harness and the need to be one of the greats that any advance towards me was quickly shut down. For very similar reasons to when I was alive.

You never fail to surprise me, dear Amelia. You make me feel things I never dreamed possible. And for you to confess so lightly has me in awe. A creature such as myself, blessed with the love of an angel. I have done nothing to deserve such a treasure.”

“How are you so fucking poetic?” I whispered, making Alastor laugh. “Seriously. You’re too romantic for your own good. You’re at, like, an eleven and I need you to bring it down to a four.”

“For you, my love, I will write a million poems,” Alastor whispered into my ear and I shivered. “I will write about your beauty and how it reminds me of the rarest of flowers. I will write of how your skin is softer than the finest silk, how your hair is like fire and your eyes deep pools of wonder. I will write of my love for you and how it will last for all of eternity.” He kissed my cheek and I nearly melted into a puddle of mush right then and there.

For the rest of the night he continued to whisper stupidly sweet nothings into my ear which flustered me to no end. He also made sure to keep me very close to him; if I shifted into a different position, he would be sure to follow. I got the feeling that he was going to be very clingy the next couple of days. Which was fine by me.

We refused to go to bed that night. I think both of us were worried another mishap would happen. It was a struggle, especially for me. Alastor rarely needed sleep but after the power he had used to get to me, I knew he also needed to recharge. Yet we stayed awake, the only light coming from the now lit fireplace. The hours crawled by, my eyes drooping with each passing minute. Around two in the morning, Alastor promised he would stay awake and keep watch so I could sleep. I refused to go to the bed however, so he laid me out on the couch, my head resting in his lap, and I finally let my eyes close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confessions! *gasp*


	11. Home Sweet...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia is back with her friends and is safe but will she be for long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF YOU ARE READING THIS ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN AO3, I DID NOT CONSENT TO HAVING MY WORK POSTED ELSEWHERE(EXAMPLE: FANFIC POCKET ARCHIVE LIBRARY) . PLEASE ONLY READ MY FICS ON AO3. MY FICS, ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF MY FRIEND'S, WERE PUT ON THIS APP WITHOUT CONSENT. PLEASE REPORT IT.
> 
> Also Hi! I'm back again with another update wooooo! Shorter chapter this time, loves!

When I woke up, Alastor was softly snoring above me, his head resting on his fist. I smiled and reached up, tracing his face with my finger tips. He looked so peaceful like this, a smile still on his face of course, and I sighed happily. However, as soon as my fingers touched his skin, Alastor’s eyes opened and stared down at me. His smile widened and he leaned into my hand.

“Good morning, darling,” he spoke softly. He lifted his other hand and traced a claw around my face. “Sleep well?”

“Mhm,” I hummed in response. I let my hand fall from his face and trail down his shirt front, feeling the silky material. “You?”

“I was rather busy admiring your beauty!” Alastor admitted. “You’re rather adorable when sleeping and the little snores you make are even more so.”

“I don’t snore!” I bolted up and swatted at him.

“Oh, but you do!” Alastor laughed. “It’s very quiet though.”

“Yeah well you smile in your sleep and it’s creepy,” I shot back.

“But darling! You’re never fully dressed without one!” Alastor laughed, making the laugh track sound off with him. “Now, how about some breakfast? I’m sure you’re absolutely starved!”

“That sounds nice.” I slid off the couch and stretched, feeling some joints pop as I did so. Alastor followed suit, taking my hand and leading me out of the suite and down to the kitchen. Nobody else seemed to be awake yet, the hotel was quiet and calm. Alastor sat me at the island in the kitchen before pulling out various pans, bowls and ingredients.

As I watched him, my mind began to wander. What if...what if Jules was still alive? What if the Exterminators hadn’t finished him off? What if he was coming back here right now to try and take me again? I didn’t want to go through that again. He was sick and twisted and needed to be erased from existence. But that just lead to another problem; only Exterminators could destroy demons. You needed their special weapons to do that and you could only get those on the black market. It was very rare that someone had them though and they went for extremely high prices. Plus, once word got around that there was one out in the wild, Lucifer himself would make sure to confiscate it before more harm could be done. This may be Hell, and he may be the King of it, but Lucifer didn’t need demons going around killing each other. From what I had heard, his exact words were ‘it means less demons for me to torture’.

I suddenly perked up as an idea struck me; maybe Charlie could convince her dad to let us borrow one of those weapons. If Jules _was_ still around, then we’d have a way to stop him! All we’d need is one good hit with an Exterminator spear and voila! No more Jules. But...that would also mean having a really dangerous item close to everyone. What if it fell into the wrong hands? I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anyone was killed because of me. Vaggie had already been hurt trying to get to me. If any of them were to die? No...I couldn’t ask that. I slumped back into my chair and dropped my head onto the table, causing a loud thud.

“Whatever is the matter, dear heart?” Alastor asked.

“This whole situation,” I groaned. “Fucking Jules...is there a way we can make sure he’s gone? For good? And if he’s not, what do we do? How do we finish this?”

“Do not fret! I’ve had my shadow out all night looking for that cretin,” Alastor’s voice dripped with disdain as he said the last word. “If he is still around, I’ll make sure he never sees another red sky again.” The static in the room changed and weird symbols began floating around Alastor for a moment before he shoot his head and turned on his brightest smile.

“Riight,” I chuckled nervously. “You’re terrifying. Uh...I’m just gonna...yeah.” I slid off the seat and made a beeline for the door but arms suddenly warped around me and began pulling me back.

“But darling! You haven’t eaten a thing yet!” Alastor chided. “Come now, you don’t want to starve, do you?”

“Alastor!” I giggled as he hoisted me back up onto the chair and placed a kiss on the side of my head.

“Once you’ve eaten, you can run away as much as you like,” he replied. “But you must eat first.” I huffed but nodded, settling in to watch him finish the food. As he cooked, Angel Dust, Charlie and Vaggie slowly made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. Angel Dust immediately claimed the seat beside me, throwing two of his arms around me and pulling me in close.

“Kid, I’ve missed waking up to your face,” he admitted. “Just hasn’t been the same without you. Plus, Alastor wouldn’t let any of us sleep, what with all his wailing.”

“Wailing? Alastor?” I laughed. “I highly doubt that.”

“No, it’s true!” Angel nodded. “He was like a lost puppy! He wouldn’t stop going on about-” Before he could finish, a knife whizzed by Angel’s head and embedded itself into the way. Angel yelped and fell of his seat. I glanced over at Alastor who had his back turned to us and was flipping something in a pan.

“Alastor! The wall!” Charlie groaned and went to pull the knife out. She grumbled the whole way, trying her best to yank the thing out but it was stuck in there. Vaggie made her way over and tried her hand at it, also not making any headway.

“How hard did you throw this?!” Vaggie demanded through gritted teeth as she pulled on the knife.

“Dear, I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t use a little strength now and then.” Alastor’s comment was light with laughter. Angel finally managed to stand up, his chest heaving as he glared at Alastor.

“That was aimed for my head!” He yelled, pointing all four of his arms at the knife.

“If it was aimed at your head,” Alastor said, turning around. “It would have hit.” Alastor set a plate of food in front of me and I had to stop myself from screaming at the amount on the plate; it was overflowing! He had made pancakes, eggs, bacon and hash browns.

“Are you trying to make me fat?” I asked, poking at an egg with my fork. The yolk split open and started oozing and I longed to dig in but at the same time... _It was a lot of food._

“I’ll help ya eat it, toots,” Angel said. “Smiles owes me a good breakfast anyways.”

“Since when?” Alastor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Since ya threw a knife at my head!” Angel replied and angrily stabbed a hash brown with a fork. I giggled and shook my head, smiling fondly at Angel. I had missed him. I leaned my head against Angel’s shoulder and took a bite of pancakes. My eyes widened slightly as a soft orange flavor hit me and I hummed in delight. Alastor set more plates of food down for the others and they dug in happily. Eventually, Husk an Niffty found themselves in the kitchen and accepted food as well, Husk just grunting as a way of thanks before heading to the bar. Niffty was talking a mile a minute, making sure I was caught up on everything that she had been up to in my absence. Apparently my room got cleaned and rearranged. She wanted it to be perfect when I came back.

Charlie and Vaggie were also talking, when they could get a word in. Apparently Charlie had had almost the same thought as me; she had informed her father of what Jules had done and now there was a warrant out for him. Any demon who found and brought him to Lucifer would be rewarded. The King did not like a relation to one of the prince’s acting out in such a way. It kind of surprised me since this was, ya know, Hell and most people were down here because of such actions but I guess an embarrassment to the royal family was something Lucifer could not handle. What he was planning on doing to Jules I had no idea, nor did I really care, but I had heard stories of how powerful the King was and hoo boy.

After breakfast, Charlie and Vaggie dragged me into the TV room and sat me down on the couch, chattering away. Angel lounged on the floor in front of us, putting in his two cents every once and a while as he channel surfed. Niffty began dusting around us before zooming off to other parts of the hotel. I craned my neck and caught a glimpse of Husk at the bar, already drowning in booze. Alastor sauntered into the room and took a seat in one of the chairs beside the couch, crossing his leg and resting his chin in his hand.

It was nice to be surrounded by everyone again. I felt that feeling of being safe envelop me once more and tears threatened to fall but I fought them back. No crying, I had to be strong. Everything was going to be okay now. Jules was taken care of...probably, I was with everyone I loved again. Things would be okay now.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. Charlie and Vaggie were still trying to finish up getting the rest of the hotel ready for some of the guests that had signed up, the night of the party. Angel Dust stuck by my side, an arm or two around me the entire time, while he went about his daily business of doing nothing. Alastor also stayed closed by, but not as close as Angel. He would just follow us into whatever room we had gone into and would stay in the background, sometimes pacing around to look out the various windows. I knew what he was doing but it was getting on my nerves.

“Alastor, you can sit down.” I motioned to a chair in the room. Alastor turned to me from the window he was currently staring out of and softened his smile.

“I’m quite alright, dear,” Alastor replied. “I’m quite content where I am.”

“Yeah well, you’re putting me on edge,” Angel groaned. “Bird brain ain’t coming. He’s dead.”

“We don’t know that,” I spoke quietly. “We just know he ran off.”

“He’s. Dead.” Angel sighed. “I ain’t dealing with his ass no more. I refuse.”

“Well, you won’t have to!” Alastor said in a cheery voice, walking over to us. We were lounging in the lobby, Angel making eyes at Husk while the cat demon tried his best to ignore Angel. “If Jules did manage to survive, I will tear each limb of his off. Slowly. And then I’ll make him watch as I eat them. I’m sure he’d taste good with some spices. Fried perhaps. Like a chicken.”

“Oh god,” Angel gagged. “You kiss your girlfriend with that mouth?”

“You’re one to talk,” I deadpanned.

“Hey!” Angel poked my side. “I’ll have you know, people pay good money for what my mouth can do.”

“Gross.” I shuddered. “I don’t need to know that.”

“Yes, please leave your...extra curriculum activities to yourself.” Alastor waved Angel off and went back to his post by the window.

“Yeah but I bet I could get a scream or two out of this one,” Angel nudged me and I smacked him back.

“You do not have permission to say such things, sir,” I informed him. “Besides. I doubt you’re that good.” I snickered as Angel squawked at that. My laughter was short lived though when the front door burst open and a figure fell through it. Both Angel and I jumped up, Husk looking on with a bored expression. Alastor was suddenly by my side, his static going crazy, as he regarded the newcomer.

“Maybe it isn’t him...” I started but I could already see the gold feathers. It was Jules. He looked...well, he looked like Hell. There were cuts everywhere and blood was oozing from them. He lifted his head to look at us and I saw he was missing an eye.

“Amelia...” he rasped. “Help me.”

“Jesus fuck,” Angel muttered. Charlie and Vaggie walked around the corner then, stopping in their tracks as they took in the scene.

“He’s _alive?!_ ” Vaggie nearly screeched, summoning her weapon. Charlie ran to my side and wrapped a protective arm around me.

“Why are you here?” Charlie demanded, her demon form coming out.

“Angels...need help...” Jules coughed, spitting out blood as he did so.

“Like we’d help you!” Angel Dust huffed. “They should have finished you off.” Jules pushed himself up a bit and I noticed he was missing an arm as well. They really did a number on him. I would feel bad if he wasn’t, you know, a psycho. I glanced up at Alastor because he was being scarily quiet, and saw him eyes were narrowed and he had a dangerous smirk on his face.

“Al?” I whispered his name. Alastor’s eyes flicked to me briefly before going back to Jules.

“I do believe I need to have a...talk with Jules.” Without taking his eyes off the other demon, Alastor bent down and brushed a kiss on my forehead before moving towards Jules. “Do be a dear and stay with the others.” Alastor grabbed Jules’ arm and hoisted him up, ignoring the scream of pain coming from the bird demon. Shadows engulfed them and then they were gone.

“...what do you think Alastor will do?” Charlie asked quietly. We all jumped when there was a loud bang and turned to see Husk glaring at the bottle he had just slammed onto the counter top.

“You don’t want to know,” Husk replied. “Trust me. I’ve seen what that asshole is capable of. It’s not pretty.” I turned to look at the spot Alastor and Jules had been and bit my lip. I had heard of what Alastor was capable of...

A loud clearing of the throat was suddenly around us and all of us looked to see where it was coming from. It didn’t take long before we noticed the radio suddenly in the lobby.

“Oh no...” Charlie bit her lip. “He’s broadcasting.”

“ _Attention ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! It’s time for your favourite broadcast from Hell!”_ Alastor’s voice filtered through the speakers and he sounded...manic. Insane. Like he had jumped off the ledge of sanity and was now free falling. _“Today’s is a special one! This one is a reminder of what happens to all those who take and hurt what belongs to me!”_

“I don’t think we should listen,” Charlie winced. “Especially you, Amelia. It’s not...” A scream cut her off and we all jumped. The most agonizing scream came from the radio and goosebumps ran up my arm.

“ _Yes indeedy! Today we have a special guest who was just kind enough to volunteer for today’s performance! Why don’t you say hello, dear?”_ Another scream sounded and I slapped a hand over my mouth in horror. “ _I do hope you enjoy the show, dear listeners. I am dedicated this to my darling, my heart, Amelia!”_

“Jesus fuck.” Angel’s eyes were wide and I had a feeling the look of horror on his face mirrored mine. Another scream ripped through the room and I nearly collapsed. 

“Alright, get her out of here,” Husk came over and started pushing me towards the stairs. “She doesn’t need to hear this.” Angel grabbed my arm and rushed me up the stairs and into his room. We could still hear the screaming but it was muffled. I also noticed it was echoing. He really was broadcasting all over Hell. I collapsed onto the bed, sobs falling from me. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Angel started pacing. Charlie and Vaggie rushed into the room and Charlie slapped something onto my head and over my ears. The world was suddenly quiet. I reached up and felt headphones. Noise cancelling headphones. I curled up into a ball on Angel’s bed and Charlie sat beside me, running her fingers through my hair. I could see her, Angel and Vaggie speaking to each other. Vaggie looked pissed off and was clearly yelling, I could hear her muffled shouts through the headphones. Angel was just pacing and Charlie just looked like she wanted to hide away from everything. Didn’t sound like a bad idea. 

I ended up closing my eyes and dozing off, just wanting to screams to stop echoing in my head.  I wasn’t sure how much time passed by but eventually I was woke up by Angel gently shaking me and pointing to the headphones. I slipped them off and sighed in relief when I didn’t hear anything from the broadcast.

“He stopped a few minutes ago,” Angel explained. “I just wanted to wait in case he had anything else in store.” I nodded in understanding and sat up. Charlie and Vaggie weren’t around but, for some reason, Husk was asleep in a chair by the window, a bottle of booze in his hand. “I had him look after ya while I went with the girls to get something.”

“What did you get?” I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

“Some take out,” Angel replied. “It’s downstairs...if you can eat.” 

“Mmm...” I took stock of myself before nodding. I was feeling hungry, surprisingly, and let Angel pull me up from the bed. “Husk?”

“He’s dead to the world right now,” Angel sighed. “Doubled down on the booze after we had come up here.”

“And yet you trusted him enough to watch me.” I deadpanned and Angel chuckled a bit.

“Yeah. Not smart.” We made out way downstairs and to the dining room where Charlie and Vaggie were setting up the table. By the looks of things, they had chosen Chinese which I was happy about. I always did love Chinese food. 

“Hey,” Charlie smiled as we entered. “Hope you’re hungry. We bought a lot.”

“I can see that,” I huffed out a laugh. The table was full of food. “Looks good.” Dinner was...weird. We were all silent. The only sound was from the clinking of forks on the plate. Even Niffty was silent, which was really fucking weird. She talked a mile a minute most days. Hearing absolutely nothing from her was...unsettling. 

About half way through dinner, we heard the lobby doors bang open before Alastor’s cheery humming reached our ears. He didn’t come inside the dining room though, just went straight for the stairs. Charlie let out a sigh of relief and Vaggie lost some tension in her shoulders.  I just finished the rest of my dinner before pushing away from the table.

“Where are you going?” Angel asked. “Are ya...going up to him?” I paused for a moment, unsure, before I shook my head. 

“No. I’m going to my room. I need to process before I can face him.” I sighed and made my way upstairs to my room. As soon as the door closed behind me, I flopped onto the bed and grabbed my pillow, holding it to my chest and squeezing. 

What was I going to do? What Alastor just did...it kind of scared me. I knew he used to do it all the time. I knew that. But...but hearing it? Knowing that he was torturing someone? For me, no less! It made everything different. Did Jules deserved?....Probably. Did I need to know about it? Fuck no.  I felt my stomach roll as I thought of everything Alastor might have done. All the things he was capable of doing with just his hands was terrifying but add his magic? Nope, not going there.

My mind was a mess. Thoughts were running around like crazy and I couldn’t focus on one for very long.  I had to keep reminding myself that Alastor would never hurt me. He loved me. Or at least...he said he did. He acted like he did. So...he did, right? He must, he wouldn’t let just anyone get this close to him. Which meant he wouldn’t hurt me. But even still...

I was brought out of my thoughts by something moving in the darkness. I bolted up in bed and looked around, not seeing anything at first until Alastor’s shadow stepped into the light from the window. It regarded me carefully, its head tilted, before offering me a piece of paper. I blinked down at the folded paper, unsure of myself, before reaching out and grabbing it.  The shadow nodded before slipping under the door frame and leaving. I sighed and turned on the bedside lamp so I could see the letter better.

_ Darling Love, _

_ Would you care to join me tonight? We have much to discuss _

_ Alastor _

Oh boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGST


	12. Who Are We, If Not Each Other's?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia and Alastor need to have a talk and Alastor says some surprising things

I slowly made my way up the Alastor’s room. I could still hear Jules’ screaming in my head and it sent shivers down my spine. Jules needed to go away; he needed to stop being a threat so I could live in peace. Hell, the Angel’s hadn’t done any better than what Alastor just did. They had practically torn Jules to pieces. Alastor just...finished the job. And now everything was going to be fine. Right? Right. Right...

When I finally reached his door, I hesitated. Did I knock? Did I just walk in? Both? I hated feeling like this with Alastor of all people. Demons. Something! I couldn’t think straight. Taking a deep breath, I reached up and knocked before opening the door and poking my head in.

“Al?” I called.

“Come in, darling!” His chipper voice carried from inside the suite. Biting my lip, I headed inside and found him sitting on the couch reading. He looked spotless, which was good. I had worried I’d see some left over...something but then again, Alastor had to look his best no matter what. He looked up as I approached, his smile turning soft as he regarded me. His eyes were guarded though. He knew something was wrong. He closed the book and set it aside, holding out his hand for me to grab. “Darling?”

“You...” I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. My heart was hammering in my chest. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing that concerns you, dear.” Alastor took his hand back and steepled his hands under this chin. “I did what needed to be done. Simple as that. You’re no longer in danger.”

“Okay but...did you have to broadcast it like that?” I asked.

“Why, yes! My listeners have been waiting a long time for another broadcast!” Alastor grinned fully. “I couldn’t deny them a show! And how marvellous it was! Did you listen?”

“No!” I turned and started pacing, biting my lip. “I...they wouldn’t let me. I didn’t want to! Alastor, that was really fucked up.”

“You knew this is what I do,” Alastor pointed it out so calmly. It almost made it worse. “You also knew I wasn’t going to let him go easy. Why are you so upset?”  
  


“I didn’t think you were serious!” I replied, practically yelling. “I thought you were just going to...banish up or something! Not torture him for hours.”

“He did it to you.”

“I...Okay yes but-”

“But nothing. I hurt him as he hurt you. Nobody hurts what is mine.” His eyes flashed as he spoke and I winced. “You are still mine, aren’t you?” What a question that was. The fact that he was even asking meant that my fear was coming through strong.

I knew Alastor would never hurt me. I had no reason to believe he ever would. All he had been to me was kind and caring, which I had gathered was completely coming from the left field with him. He was the feared Radio Demon, he slaughtered without a care! Yet he chose to be gentle with me. I knew he would never hurt me. So why was I so scared of him? Realizing I was taking a long time to answer, I sat beside him.

“Yes,” I replied firmly. “Just don’t...torture someone in my name.” Alastor hummed over my words before nodding.

“I do suppose it does put you in danger as well,” he said. “Any allies of Jules will know who was the cause of all that.”

“Alastor!” I shrieked. “I didn’t need to know that!” Now I had to worry about that?

“Do not fret!” Alastor threw an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll make sure they don’t touch a hair on your head!” I groaned and leaned into him.

“Just...please no more broadcasts like that,” I sighed. “At least not when it concerns me. And not where I can hear.”

“Deal.” Alastor chuckled as he leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “I can still destroy demons though, right?” I huffed a laugh and nodded, curling myself up into his arms even more.

“Even if I said no, you’d do it anyways.” I started tracing patterns over his shirt, starting from his collar and moving down to his stomach.

“True,” Alastor hummed. “Can’t help who I am, sweetheart.”

“I know.” I whispered the words and buried myself closer to him. “I wouldn’t ask you to change.” We sat in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company and the calmness of the moment. I continued tracing random shapes on Alastor’s shirt, not even really aware I was doing it. It was just another thing of comfort.

“It’s late,” Alastor murmured into my hair, his breath tickling me a bit. “You must be exhausted.”

“I don’t want to sleep,” I admitted. “I keep thinking if I close my eyes, I’ll wake up and still be there.” I didn’t need to say where ‘there’ was, Alastor understood. His arms tightened around me and bit my lip. I couldn’t stop seeing Julian’s eyes when I closed my own and I just knew my dreams would be plagued tonight.

“How about a stroll then? I’ll keep you protected, don’t worry.” Alastor moved to stand up and I followed him.

“I’m not really dressed for a walk,” I looked down at my night wear and Alastor eyed me for a moment before snapping his fingers. I was instantly clothed in my usual outfit, my hair up and away from my face. Upon further inspection, I found a butterfly clip holding the strands together.

“There!” Alastor grinned down at me. “Picture perfect.” He offered his arm to me and I accepted it, my fingers curling into the fabric of his suit jacket and feeling the softness of it. Alastor led me out of the room and downstairs to where the others were still talking amongst themselves. They all turned to look at us and I gave a small wave.

“We’re just going for a walk,” I explained.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Angel called after us and I snorted.

“That’s a short list!” I shot back. I heard Angel squawk and what sounded like a scuffle and I started laughing. I didn’t have to turn around to know someone was holding him back from tackling me. Alastor held the door for me open and I slipped through, waiting for him while he shut the door behind us.

“Shall we?” He asked when he turned back around. I nodded and took his arm again. “I hope you don’t mind but I also need to check on one of my territories. It’s not too far from here and it won’t take long.”

“So there was an ulterior motive behind this stroll?” I side eyed him and he winced a bit.

“I do apologize, I did want to spend some time with you,” Alastor replied. “But it just occurred to me that I hadn’t been there for a while.”

“Hmm...” I hummed in thought. “Well, I’ve never seen your territory before so, sure. Why not?” Alastor grinned and picked up his pace a bit.

“You’ll like it there! Not as drab as some other territories in Hell,” he rambled. “And those under me know who is in charge. I haven’t had an uprising in many years! Ha! Does make for some boring days though.” I didn’t really understand what he was talking about; nobody had ever explained how territories worked to me before. All I knew what that the Overlords owned their own shares and there were often wars for new spots. I kind of figured it worked like a tenant/landlord relationship just...in Hell.

I wasn’t far off. When we got to Alastor’s area, I noticed what he meant by it not being drab. It was more high class, the homes were nicer and the streets were cleaner. It was still Hell though so it was hard to keep anything completely clean but it was almost like demons put in an effort here? I had a feeling Alastor had something to do with that. I also noticed that, as we walked, demons would approach us and hand Alastor an envelop before scurrying off again. Alastor would take the money and a small shadow portal would whisk it away.

“What are they doing?” I asked as another one ran off.

“Paying rent.” Alastor’s voice was low and a little cold but not directed at me. He was eyeing everyone around us and his face was vacant of that warmth I had come to know. He wasn’t Alastor in this moment; he was the Radio Demon. I could see it in how his eyes were narrowed and his grin was feral. The static around us was louder and his microphone tapped loudly on the ground as well. In this moment, this wasn’t my Alastor. And I was...kind of turned on by it.

Once we had gone down the entire street, Alastor led me to another area and his attitude completely changed. Gone was the Radio Demon and beside me stood lovable Alastor. He started cracking jokes right away and his face softened.

“My dear! Have I ever told you about the lizard who couldn’t change colours?” He asked suddenly. “He had reptile dysfunction!” I snickered as he finished the joke and shook my head. He went on with more dad jokes, trying to get me to either laugh or groan with each other. Either reaction had him extremely happy.

He eventually led me to a small park that had a gazebo in the middle of it. The park was completely empty, which sort of struck me as odd because there were always demons shooting up in Hell’s parks. But this one was devoid of others. Alastor removed his arm from mine and instead, took my hand and started pulling me to the gazebo.

“Why is there no one here?” I asked, looking around us.

“I took the liberty of having my shadows clear everyone out!” Alastor explained. “I didn’t want anyone to spoil this!”

“Spoil what?” I turned to look up at him as he helped me up the stairs and to the middle of the small area.

“Our dance!” Alastor grinned and music began to play around us. “Would you let me have this dance?” He bowed slightly and I giggled.

“Why, of course!” I replied and tried my best at a curtsy. I apparently failed because Alastor had to hide a laugh behind a cough and I sent him a fake glare. I opened my mouth to say something but was cut off when Alastor suddenly pulled me closer and began swaying us back and forth. It was a slow song and, while I wasn’t that good at it, I was able to keep up with Alastor. We moved around the wood floor with ease, the music surrounding us and blocking everything else from our minds. It was just us and it was glorious.

“Darling,” Alastor began and dipped his head closer to me so his mouth was by my ear. “My dearest. The light that has come into my life.”

“What do you want?” I huffed a laughed. “You’re being overly sweet.”

“I just simply wish to know one thing!” He replied, pulling back so he could look at me properly.

“What’s that?” I hummed, raising an eyebrow.

“Why me?” He asked. “Of all the people, of all the demons, you choose such a loathsome creature like myself.”

“I-” I tried to answer but he cut me off.

“Tonight, for example. What I did...I can see I terrified you. Why do you stay by my side?” Alastor’s eyes were narrowed in thought, his smile softer.

“I love you.” I said simply. “Yes, tonight you scared me. But I knew what and who you were going into this. Somewhat. And I know you wouldn’t do that to me.”

“ _Never._ ” His arms tightened around me as he hissed the word. “You own my heart. I would seek oblivion if I ever hurt you.”

“Okay well, I don’t want you to go that far,” I shook my head. “But it’s nice to be reassured.” Alastor spun me around a few times before returning to gentle swaying.

“Things are so different from my time,” Alastor mused. “I would have liked to have had a conversation with your parents before saying anything.”

“What?” I tilted my head, confused. My parents?

“It was customary, in my day,” Alastor replied. “To ask permission.”

“....For?”

“Your hand,” Alastor chuckled. “In marriage.” I felt my brain short circuit and my feet stopped moving, making the both of us trip. If it hadn’t been for Alastor’s lightening fast reactions, we would have fallen. “Dear?”

“Ah...” I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unsure of how to proceed. That word kept running through my mind, like a record player stuck on a track.

“Have I frightened you again?” Alastor asked, almost innocently. I shook my head, words still eluding me for the moment. “Surprised, then. I thought of it while I was doing my broadcast. I wanted to gauge your reaction to such a notion. I suppose I have it.” I blinked, once. Twice. My brain was slowly restarting.

“Me?” I finally asked, my voice squeaking.

“Who else?” Alastor smiled softly at me. “Silly girl.” He kissed my forehead and sighed.

“So...” I tried to form a real sentence but it was proving to be difficult. “Is this you asking or...?”

“Hm? No,” Alastor pulled away. “Not yet. I just wanted to know it was an option.”

“Oh...”

“You sound disappointed, darling.” There was a laugh in his voice and I felt my face heat up.

“It’s not that! I just...I’m not...I-” I was cut off by Alastor kissing me.

“Do not fret,” Alastor pulled away slightly, his lips brushing over mine with each word. “Soon enough.” That made me lose myself again and I think a squeak escaped me but I wasn’t too sure. Either way, Alastor chuckled again. “Shall we head back?”

“S-sure.” I nodded and we headed back to the Hotel. My mind was running a million miles a minute and I knew I really wasn’t going to get any sleep now. The bastard...he really had perfect timing, didn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*


	13. All My Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia reflects on everything that has happened since the Jules incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very short and I do apologize but well...as you can see....

It was strange; I didn’t feel like I had to look over my shoulder every five seconds. Things turned back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get in Hell. Charlie hired me on as staff at the Hotel, basically telling me I was Alastor’s little helper. Oh how pleased he was with that. He got to boss me around and make me file tedious amounts of paperwork while he sat there and chatted away while sipping coffee! I mean really. The nerve of this man sometimes.

When I wasn’t helping Alastor, I was usually hanging out with Angel Dust or helping Charlie. After the whole...Jules incident, demons started coming to the Hotel more and more. Not many of them stayed a night, they were only interested in seeing Alastor’s new ‘toy’ as one of them so politely put it. They quickly found their ass on the ground outside. The few that did stay though found the ways of the Hotel quite helpful. These demons were more timid, ones who had been sent to Hell for bullshit reasons, and I did believe they deserved second chances.

Angel Dust, ever the meddler that he was, decided that Alastor and I needed to get going on taking the next step and sleep together. I went up to my room one day to find Angel setting a bunch of bags down on the bed, all of them black and red with tissue paper sticking out the top.

“Oh hey toots,” Angel nodded. “Just in time. I want you to try these on. I had to guess your size.”

“Angel,” I eyed the bags with caution. “What are those?”

“Why, only the sexiest pieces of clothing Hell has to offer!” Angel beamed at me. “I took the liberty of spicing up your life since you seem so slow on doing it yourself.”

“Angel!” I cried and shut my bedroom door, not wanting anymore unwanted visitors. “No! Bring them back!”

“But Red! You’ve been so pent up lately,” Angel nearly purred. “I say it’s time Deer Daddy drop some trou and get to work.” He thrust his hips forward and I let out a very unladylike yell, grabbing whatever was near and throwing it at Angel. This started an all out wrestle match which caused the others to come running when we started knocking lamps onto the floor.

“Slut!” I growled as I tried to get the upper hand and throw him off of me.

“Prude!” He shot back as he tried to pin me.

“What are you two doing?!” Vaggie demanded, her eye bugging out.

“He started it!” I defended as I slapped Angel’s hands away.

“Me?! You threw your shoe at me!” Angel grunted as I kneed him in the stomach and started crawling away. While this was going on, Alastor had slipped into the room and started inspecting the bags.

“My, my, my,” he mused as he held up a very tiny red and black teddy. “Did you buy these, dear?” He turned to me and my face flushed deep red.

“No!” I practically screamed.

“Everyone out!” Charlie yelled and started pushing all the guys out. “Leave the poor girl alone!” After she wrestled Angel, Husk and Alastor out into the hallway, she slammed the door on them and turned to me. Vaggie, Niffty, Charlie and I all looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Oh Charlie,” I cackled. “Thank you. I don’t want to know what else Angel bought.”

“I don’t know, he seems to have good taste,” Charlie commented as she went over to look through the bags. “I’d keep some of these if I were you. I’m sure Alastor would appreciate it.”

“Oh god.” I groaned and flopped onto the floor.

In the end, I ended up keeping everything but they were shoved into the very back of my dresser and just the thought of them made me blush. Angel also liked to bring it up every now and then just to get a rise out of me. I had wanted to leave it at that but I often caught myself thinking if Alastor would like any of them...on me...with the lights dimmed and the door locked. I usually had to shake those thoughts away. It wasn’t like I didn’t want them, I did. They were really nice thoughts. But I didn’t know if Alastor would share the same...he had already said it wasn’t something he did and I wanted to respect that.

Of course, he made it hard to when we’d be cuddling late at night and his hands would start roaming. He really liked to tease me.

Months ended up going by and with each passing one, everything seemed to just get better. The Hotel was in full swing, not that anyone had been redeemed just yet but Charlie was hopeful. We at least has full rooms, even though some of them were only there for free food and board, much like Angel.

Honestly, everything seemed to be great. Around Christmas, Alastor ended up giving me that promised small box. It had just been the two of us in the suite, the fire had been crackling away quietly and we had been cuddled up in the couch, just enjoying each other’s company. He had shifted and suddenly there was a small, black box in my view. I stiffened up and Alastor chuckled before popping the box open. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring with small rubies set around it.

“I wanted to find the best time to ask,” he murmured as he took my hand in his. “I knew you wouldn’t want anything big or flashy.” His smile was small and...nervous. He was nervous! The big, scary Radio Demon!

“Alastor, it’s beautiful,” I whispered as I carefully took the ring from the box.

“Not as beautiful as the gem sitting in my arms.” He brushed his lips over my temple.

“God, you’re so cheesy,” I giggled. I slipped the ring onto my finger and it slid on smoothly. Alastor let out a sigh of relief and held me closer.

“My darling, you have shown me a happiness I could have never imagined before,” Alastor’s voice caressed my ear and his breath tickled my hair. “I thought I knew what I wanted, that I had everything planned out perfectly, but then you came crashing into my life and turned everything on its side. You have made me fall in love with you and I will never leave your side.” I felt tears prickle the corners of my eyes and a stupid smile stretch across my lips.

“I...never thought anyone would ever ask me to marry them,” I admitted. “I always figured I was destined to be alone for the rest of my life. Every relationship I ever had ended so horribly and I...I didn’t want to go through it again and again. But with you, I don’t fear anything bad happening. I feel like this was how it was meant to be.”

We stayed like that well into the night, just holding each other and whispering soft nothings. It was perfect. He was perfect. I was safe, I was loved and I was happy. I had found a little slice of heaven in Hell and I was going to make sure it stayed that way forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my lovelies. It's over. But fret not! I plan on some one shots for these two idiots!


End file.
